Bill Belichick's draft picks are key to his future success in New England

By: Tatumn Vaught on April 15, 2020

The 2020 NFL Draft is a whole new ball game now that Brady decided to leave the chilly winters of New England for sunny all year round Tampa Bay. Since it's Belichick's 68th birthday, he's definitely realizing how important these young QB's he's about to draft are to his career. If Belichick wants to prove his worth without Brady and have a successful future with the Patriots then choosing the right QB is essential.

Although the Patriots have the 23rd pick overall in the draft, they're still hoping to keep a top-ranked QB on their radar. Currently, both veteran Brian Hoyer and 2019 forth rounder Jerrett Stidham from Auburn. Belichick and Robert Kraft are 'krafting' their 2020 roster with this in mind, however, it's very difficult redesigning the whole program since it's always been centered around Brady.

"Over the last two decades, everything we did, every single decision we made in terms of major planning was made with the idea of how to make things best for Tom Brady. Now that being said, we've had several situations where we had to play and knew Tom wasn't going to be the quarterback," Belichick said referencing Brady's previous injury and suspension.

Bill Belichick's Rookie QB options

1. Joe Burrow

-He'll be long gone before the Patriots get to him, but this Heisman winner rocked New Orleans with a natty in 2019 and will be the new Brady of the NFL.

2. Tua Tagovailoa

-Alabama's Hawian prince who recovered from not one but two severe injuries that put him at odds for a top pick in the draft, but he'll be a star. A perfect rookie for the Patriots since Bill Belichick and Nick Saban coached together previously and have such similar styles, it would be an easy transition and great move for Tua.

3. Jordan Love

-CBS Sports analyst Ryan Wilson said, "Love has had to deal with adversity -- for the entirety of the 2019 season, in fact -- and while we only saw glimpses of his potential last year, his 2018 campaign was good enough to put him in the first-round conversation heading into last fall."

4. Justin Herbert

-Herbert's 6'6, 236 lbs, and can run the 40-yard dash in 4.68 seconds. He's NFL material just from his physique, but Herbert brings a lot to the table from Oregon that Belichick needs for a new leader on his team.

While the Patriots are searching for their next Brady, it would be negligent not to mention what they missed by sacrificing everything for him. In 2017, Jimmy Garoppolo decided to sign with the San Francisco 49ers for his third season in the league. Garoppolo was designed to be yet another Cinderella story for the Patriots. Drafted at pick 62 in the second round coming from Eastern Illinois University, Jimmy G had to fill in for Brady when times were at their worst for the Patriots. Garoppolo averaged 690 passing yards for the Patriots while he was there, with only six yards in the 2015 season. Garoppolo has definitely shown Kraft and Belichick what could have been, averaging 6256 yards with the Niners in his first three years with the team. While it's obvious Brady was running the show and Garoppolo was riding the bench in style, it's hard not to see the potential he had that could have been essential to the Patriots at this time. However, the NFL goes on and Garoppolo had a huge starting position and check waiting for him in San Francisco, not to mention a future trip to the Super Bowl in just his third year with the team.

It's impossible to say, but I sense this draft will be full of trades in order for the Patriots to secure one of these top four QBs, but this draft is full of stars such as Jacob Easton, Jake Fromm, Jalen Hurts and more. It's so unpredictable, but I'm sure Belichick has something up his sleeve to make any of these men stand out in the NFL.