Report on Patriots' NFL Draft, QB plans quickly questioned

It appears smokescreen season arrived for the New England Patriots even before the conclusion of the ongoing NFL Scouting Combine. 

A report from Thursday revealed that the Patriots intend to sign a veteran quarterback in free agency, use the No. 3 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft to grab a signal-caller and move on from 2023 Week 1 QB1 Mac Jones. 

However, Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald later said that New England's alleged plan "is news to multiple high-ranking personnel evaluators within the team." 

Callahan and Kyed added that sources claimed "such a decision has not been communicated throughout the Patriots’ front office" heading into the first weekend of March. 

In a mock draft posted on Wednesday, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. predicted that New England will spend the third pick to land North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Drake Maye. 

Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports has repeatedly linked the Patriots with Maye, and the Boston Herald story shared that "several league sources believe the Patriots will ultimately take a quarterback at No. 3 overall, which one front-office member admitted the team is aware of during the draft process." 

There has, however, been some speculation regarding New England potentially moving down in the first round of the draft via a trade that could also hand the organization up to three second-round selections. 

In such a scenario, the Patriots could potentially acquire Michigan Wolverines signal-caller J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy's draft stock seems to be rising, and he ended February projected to be the fourth quarterback drafted this spring. 

As for Jones, Chad Graff and Jeff Howe of The Athletic wrote for a piece published Thursday that "a trade is seen around the league as a mutually beneficial move" even though it was previously thought the 25-year-old could remain in the club's quarterback room through at least training camp. 

Callahan and Kyed said that "league sources peg Jones' trade value in the neighborhood of a fifth-round pick." 

Even if the Patriots don't move down in the draft order, there's no guarantee they'll happily select either Maye or LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels at No. 3. 

CBS Sports' Chris Trapasso continues to forecast that Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. will go to New England via the third choice.