Patriots have draft options for Brady heir

BOSTON, MA » Beyond the mystery of how Bill Belichick decides to play his cards during the draft — armed with two first-round picks and four selections in the first two rounds — the issue that might be of greatest interest to Patriot fans has to do with a quarterback.

Will we know the identity of Tom Brady’s successor by the weekend? Chances are, Bill Belichick is going to pull the trigger and select Brady’s heir either Thursday in the first round, or Friday during rounds 2 and 3.

It’s even possible he’ll draft more than one quarterback just to increase the odds of hitting it right.

With the Hoodie, you have to consider all the options, so double- dipping at quarterback might be in his draft plans if the dominoes fall right.

Times change. When Brady talked about playing to age 45, and being almost insistent on that stance, the need to draft a quarterback this season didn’t seem quite as urgent.

But with him now appear- ing to be more in a year-to-year state of mind, it means the Patriots can’t wait. They have to find their future signal- caller.

Plus, with the quarterback class not expected to be as fruitful next season, it also makes sense to strike now.

The more important question is when the Patriots plan on getting their guy, assuming they

just target one quarterback.

With four picks in the first two rounds, they certainly have the assets to move up into the top 10, even theoretically into the top five if they truly covet one of the leading prospects.

Is that kind of move absolutely necessary?

Let’s put it this way. They can still come away with a quarterback who will be successful in the NFL without budging an inch.

There’s no need to go crazy, and surrender all of their resources, to move all the way up the board unless someone of note slips.

To that end, there’s been talk about UCLA’s Josh Rosen dropping out of the top five, and he might intrigue the Patriots.

Rosen would be someone to target, depending how far he drops. It’s just hard envisioning him, or any of the top guys, falling too far beyond No. 5. And it’s difficult imagining the Patriots willing to hand over a ransom (their top three selections this year and more) just for a chance at one of the perceived QB studs.

They can stay where they are, and still get a quarterback they can develop. They can even wait until the second round.

That ’ s where t hey plucked Jimmy Garoppolo. Drew Brees and Brett Favre were products of the second round, so it’s not impossible to come away with a star in that round. Seattle’s Russell Wilson was a third-round selection.

But let’s not get too deep into the second day. Sure, Brady was a sixth-round pick, but he’s the exception, not the rule. They Pats don’t need to worry about Brady not showing up for the voluntary portion of the offseason program. His agent Don Yee is on record saying his client is going to play this season and into his mid- 40s.

So if they’re not making a play for the top-tier guys, they can sit where they are at Nos. 23 and 31 and have the next tier fall to them.

But if the Patriots truly covet Louisville’s Lamar Jackson, or Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph, who are in that second tier, they might have to slide up a few spots to land Brady’s successor.

During a conference call Friday, NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock indicated the Patriots needed to decide about Jackson before they do anything, because he has the special kind of talent that might translate into stardom in the NFL.

“I think the first guy they’ve got to evaluate is Lamar Jackson: Does he or does he not fit for what they could do down the road? Belichick is an outside-thebox guy, and I think that’s the first thing you’ve got to think of is it’s a contrarian move,” Mayock said. “Can you go from Tom Brady to Lamar Jackson? Then you go to the more conventional- style quarterbacks: Mason Rudolph, Kyle Lauletta, Luke Falk.”