IS THE PATRIOTS’ INTEREST IN KENTUCKY’S WILL LEVIS REAL?
A pre-draft visit by Kentucky quarterback Will Levis? Interest in Florida’s Anthony Richardson?
Are the Patriots really in the market for a top-tier quarterback two years after taking Mac Jones with a first-round pick? Probably not.
It’s highly unlikely the Patriots will shock the world and take either prospect if one of them slides to 14th overall, and yet, given the current climate in Foxboro, it’s hard to avoid thinking something’s afoot.
Yes, there’s due diligence involved, given the possibility one or both of them don’t go in the top 10. So it makes sense for the Patriots to get a better read on Levis and or Richardson if either one drops in their lap or to a competitor. Or, at the very least, show interest to try and increase their leverage if another team wants to trade up.
But is it as simple as that?
Maybe. But where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.
In recent weeks, a lot has been written about Bill Belichick’s refusal to endorse Mac Jones as his No. 1 quarterback. He also planted the seed there would be a competition in training camp with Jones and Bailey Zappe, the team’s fourth-round pick from a year ago, duking it out.
Between that nugget, trade rumors involving Jones, Belichick refusing to utter Jones’ name in exchanges with the media, offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien treating questions about Jones like a hot potato, and now bringing in Levis, it sure looks like Belichick is doing his best to mess with the quarterback.
Why? Because Jones reportedly crossed the line with Belichick by going outside of the organization to seek help last year with the team’s struggling offense. Crossing Belichick is never a good idea, even if the Patriots head coach was the root cause of Jones reportedly reaching out to a confidante at Alabama for help.
All of which begs a few questions: Is all of the above nothing more than Belichick being petty and vindictive, and tweaking Jones at every turn? Or is it because he just doesn’t think Jones is very good, and hopes to move on?
With respect to the former, it seems silly to suggest that Belichick would waste one of his 30 visits on a player just to get back at Jones. But once again, given the stories coming out of Foxboro, who knows?
With respect to the latter, it’s possible Belichick has already seen enough to know that Jones isn’t the answer, or doesn’t give them a chance at hoisting another Lombardi. But if that’s the case, why diss him at every turn? Why diminish his value? That kind of strategy won’t help the Patriots get anything in return in a trade.
Neither scenario presents a pretty picture, although the latter explanation would be more worrisome.
Playing mind games with Jones, and using that as a tool to motivate him is one thing. Concluding he doesn’t have what it takes two years after investing in him in the first round is another. Because if the Patriots have already come to that realization, they are headed up the river without a paddle.
It’s just a little tough to believe Belichick has already dismissed Jones as a viable quarterback based on the evidence at hand.
SiriusXMNFL’s Solomon Wilcots believes even with what went down last season, Jones is still the man.
“(Belichick) does have his quarterback,” he said. “You don’t doubt the kid because he knew he was being coached by a bad coach, and tried to make it right. He was just a young kid trying to do what he needed to do. “And, he probably had a conversation with Coach Belichick and said, ‘Coach, these guys don’t know what they’re doing.’’’ There’s no question it’s been a tale of two quarterbacks. Jones had one of the best rookie seasons of any quarterback his first year. While he tailed off toward the end of the season, the overall picture was still promising.
In Year 2, that promise flew out the window. He regressed after being dealt a bad hand with two inexperienced coaches. And that’s squarely on Belichick, who put Jones in an impossible situation. At the same time, Jones’ panic in the pocket, his poor decision-making and letting the situation get the best of him, weren’t encouraging. But is it to the point of dropping another first-round quarterback to the mix, especially with so many other needs to address? Or perhaps even trading Jones?
Let’s just say even if Belichick has issues with Jones, moving on seems like a stretch at this point, especially since Patriots owner Robert Kraft has made no secret of his affection for the thirdyear quarterback.
Kraft not only loves Jones, he loves his rookie contract.
And yet, that hasn’t stopped Belichick from poking and prodding the young quarterback.
Really, is there an end game with all that?
“Bill’s part of the reason Jones isn’t that good,” Wilcots said. “He was good during his rookie year but he didn’t grow in Year 2, and that was part of Bill’s doing. So whatever his metrics are, he’s not being fair. Now, with Bill
O’Brien, this could be a get-right year for Mac.”
Wilcots then put “get-right year” into context. He has never seen a quarterback with three different coordinators, in three consecutive years, have a breakout year. So it remains to be seen just how much Jones improves.
Wilcots also suspects O’Brien will be especially tough with Jones going forward.
“I’d say with Bill O’Brien, Mac doesn’t have any excuses now,” said Wilcots. “I do think O’Brien is going to coach him really hard. So this is not about to be an easy year for Mac Jones. He’s going to have to go through the fire. He really is.”
Some would argue Jones has already gone through an inferno trying to thrive with Patricia and Judge at the helm giving him orders.
All of which goes back to the Patriots trying to put a better product on the field in 2023, after a miserable 8-9 campaign in 2022.
The NFL is a quarterback-driven league. If a team doesn’t have a top 10 quarterback, chances of getting to the playoffs are slim. Jones was a top15 quarterback his first season and the arrow was pointing up. Now, it’s hard to know exactly what he is, and what the Patriots have in store for him.
And for what it’s worth, Patriots personnel head Matt Groh didn’t rule out the possibility of drafting a quarterback when asked Tuesday.
“We had a pretty good quarterback around here for a long time. I was an area scout, nobody ever said, ‘Don’t worry about evaluating those quarterbacks. Don’t worry about that guy at San Jose State. Don’t worry about that guy at Miami.’” Groh noted during his pre-draft press conference.
“We evaluate every position. Quarterback is certainly a very important position, if not the most important position. We went through it last year. We had obviously drafted a guy the year before, drafted a guy last year. That’s just part of the competitive atmosphere that we have around here. Guys are going to thrive and come in here and compete if that’s in their nature.”
If it’s a competition, the Patriots should want the best quarterback to emerge, whether it’s Jones, Zappe, Trace McSorley or whoever. And, chances are, the Patriots will draft another quarterback. Just not in the first round.
O’Brien, meanwhile, preached the importance of having a clean slate, and starting fresh when it comes to Jones, and everyone else on offense.
If Belichick is continuing to yank Jones’ chain, as some suspect, it doesn’t appear he got that memo.
Levis landing spot?
Daniel Jeremiah had a conference call with the media Thursday, and after Bryce Young going first overall, had no real conviction about where Richardson, Levis, C.J. Stroud would end up.
“I have no feel on these quarterbacks where they end up going, which is going to make for a fun Thursday night,” he said. “You know, we have five intriguing quarterbacks to kind of sort through, and there’s all sorts of information out there.
“It’s tough to try and decipher all that, but it’s going to make for a fun night not knowing what’s going to ultimately happen with these quarterbacks.”
Jeremiah, however, sees Levis, who visited the Patriots Wednesday, as a good fit with the Colts based on what he’s heard.
“The stuff that Will Levis can do athletically is intriguing with what -- you have a Coach in Shane Steichen who’s
Coach Hightower?
During his meeting with the media on Tuesday, Jerod Mayo had some nice things to say about Dont’a Hightower, who officially announced his retirement.
“High and I have always had a great relationship. I was older, he was like a young pup. But he was very smart. He was very athletic,” Mayo said. “I got a chance to play beside him. I got a chance to coach him.
“There aren’t many people like Hightower in terms of just his smarts. I think that gets overlooked a lot with High. High is a very smart football player. You talk about Randy Moss, no one really talks about his smarts, very smart football player. And that’s Dont’a Hightower.”
Naturally, it followed for someone to ask Mayo if Hightower would make a good coach. And has he talked to him about the possibility?
“I think Hightower would be a phenomenal coach,” Mayo said. “So we’ll see. When I get a chance to run my own ship, I’ll try to recruit him.”
Hightower caught wind of Mayo’s remarks on a video posted on twitter, and retweeted it sideways eyes emojis. been able to work with Jalen Hurts and even (Justin) Herbert, his ability to move around a little bit, he fits that mold,” he said. “I’m always leery of marrying guys to what they’ve coached in the past. I think there’s more to it than that.
“But I think with him and Richardson, if we just take those two, I think Will Levis is further along in his journey in his development,” Jeremiah went on. “He might not have as much upside as Richardson, but I think tomorrow he is going to be ahead of Anthony Richardson, whereas Anthony Richardson has a little more distance to travel, but with a way bigger upside.” For the Patriots, if Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker falls to them in the second round, that would be an intriguing possibility given his dualthreat capabilities. Beyond Hooker, the Pats probably won’t add a quarterback until Day 3, if they take one at all.
Corner talk
While the Patriots are likely to draft a corner, SiriusXM NFL’s Wilcots says he wouldn’t expect that player to come in the first round. The Patriots have been able to plug in corner talent in the later rounds or beyond. Malcolm Butler, Jonathan Jones and J.C. Jackson were all undrafted free agents.
“Jack Jones is closer to evolving into a shutdown corner than any of these guys in the draft,” said Wilcots. “Let’s remember, the learning curve is steep in Bill Belichick’s defense. You can’t lose sight of the training and developing it’s going to take, even if it’s the No. 1 corner in the draft.” That said, which of the top corners would move the needle for Belichick?
“Joey Porter Jr. He’s physical, he’s bigger, and he’s been around football his whole life,” said Wilcots. “He was a three-year starter at Penn State. I just think he falls in line with what Bill would want.”