Patriots reportedly eyeing Justin Fields in case he slips in the first round

With the draft coming Thurday night, the rumors about Justin Fields and the Patriots simply refuse to die.

The NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero became the latest insider to use “Justin Fields” and “Patriots” in the same sentence on Monday morning, as he discussed the latest draft rumors on Good Morning Football. He believes the Patriots are sniffing around on what it would take for them to move up, in case Fields slips into the 7-10 range. Pelissero laid out a possible price tag, and it’s surprisingly low.

“This is an interesting one: the Patriots have been calling around in the top-10, and teams that have gotten those calls believe that their target would be Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields,” Pelissero said. “Now, it would cost the Patriots to move from 15 up to 7 or 8, probably something in the region of a second-round draft pick. That is a small price to pay if New England sees an opportunity to land a potential franchise quarterback.”

A small price, indeed. If you go by a draft trade value chart, trading 15 and 46 for the seventh overall pick would be almost a perfectly even deal (1500 “points” vs 1490). So if the goal is to even out those point values further, the Patriots would only have to throw in a pick from rounds 5-6 to make the trade happen. A bidding war with other teams for No. 7 is what would drive the price up for them.

Albert Breer of The MMQB is also reporting that the Patriots are calling teams in the top-10, but that sources are skeptical about how serious they are about moving up the board.

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  The question everyone should ask themselves, though, is do the Patriots really want Fields? Or is this a classic smokescreen designed to inflate the price of the guy they don't want, as a decoy for the guy they really do want. If they want to target a QB in the first round, the only other options there would be North Dakota State's Trey Lance and Alabama's Mac Jones.
  
  The Pats have been doing a lot of scouting for all the top QB prospects, even in the second round with guys like Texas A&M's Kellen Mond and Florida's Kyle Trask. So it's fair to wonder how much of their "interest" is just due diligence in the event that they feel he's worth selecting at 15, rather than plotting an aggressive move up the board on draft night.
  
  Another key spot is at No. 3, where the 49ers' decision has reportedly come down to Lance or Jones. Once that selection is made, the intrigue will ramp up as to where Fields and Lance would fall, and who's trying to get them. If it turns out that the Patriots can move up for one of them without having to grossly overpay with future first or second-rounders, that would be a huge win for Bill Belichick. And a win for Patriots fans, who would be getting the most exciting draft pick of the Belichick era.
  
  All that being said ... we ended up with Fields going to San Fran at No. 3 in our final NFL Mock Draft of 2021. The Patriots did trade up for a quarterback, though.

MORE: Does Trading Up For QBs Work?

Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @mattydsays. You can also email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.