Could the Patriots trade the third overall pick? | Zero Blitz

Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz is joined by NFL writer Frank Schwab to discuss the potential moves the Patriots could make with their first-round pick in this year’s draft. Hear the full conversation on the “Zero Blitz” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

Video transcript

JASON FITZ: Now you're the Patriots-- and think this is one of the most interesting things we've ever seen in draft history-- because you have a team that has for a generation been the absolute mark of how to do business, how to run the draft, how to have your quarterback situation handled-- stability. The Patriots have been the mark of stability for a generation. And now they're absolutely anything but, right? We have no idea what they're going to do.

And I believe, looking just at their roster, that the Patriots have a shot at being the worst team in the NFL this year. So you're sitting at number three. You're in a division where you got to compete with Josh Allen, something that they used to say about the Patriots-- you got to compete with Brady-- you got to compete with Josh Allen in that division. You've got talented teams in that division. You've got talented coaches. You have a new coach.

If you're New England and you're Jerod Mayo, do you trade down and just try and rebuild your roster to have a better infrastructure for a quarterback that you can bring in in a future year? Or do you take the stab at one of these guys here-- whichever one's the best one left at three-- and just trust that you can get the quarterback addressed and then figure out the rest of the team?

FRANK SCHWAB: I believe that you do not trade this pick. You need a quarterback to win in the NFL. You don't need an elite quarterback necessarily, but you need a good quarterback. You can't have a zero there. And if you're the New England Patriots, you don't want to be drafting in the top three every year. Like, they might next year, but you don't know what's coming in next year's class.

In this year's class, Jaden Daniels, Drake Maye, very good prospects. I'm happy with either one of those guys who falls. You need to start your rebuild at that quarterback position. Yes, you can trade down, get a receiver get a Malik Nabers, get some extra picks from a team like Denver, who's really desperate to move up-- Minnesota, with that extra first round pick. But it's really, really hard to win in this NFL with a zero at quarterback.

I think both of these prospects we talked about after Caleb, they can be very good quarterbacks. I think the Patriots recognize that. Look, if they trade down, I get it. I understand. You need to restock this roster, which is really, really talent poor. But to me, you just don't pass on one of these quarterbacks to do that.

You take your quarterback. You start your rebuild there. You hope that the situation around these quarterbacks isn't so bad that you ruin this quarterback. But to me, the Patriots draft a quarterback. Don't think twice about this. Don't think about trading back. Just get your guy. Start to rebuild right there.

JASON FITZ: So the number one thing I'm doing if I am any of the teams that needs a quarterback is I am offering so much that it actually makes the Patriots' knees buckle. If you think there's a crack in the armor of what they want to do-- if I'm the Raiders, for example, and Jaden Daniels somehow is sitting there at number three-- if I got to make the type of offer that ESPN mocks for the rest of time to move up, I'm going to make it. Because if there's any crack in the armor of their want to take a player right there, you have to be aggressive. Especially when you're in the AFC and you're taking on Burrow, Mahomes, and Allen for the next 10, 12, 15 years, you got to be aggressive.