The question had become, “What quarterback isn’t linked to the Patriots?”

The answer for months, conspicuously, was Stanford’s Davis Mills. The Patriots may have had representatives at Mills’ Pro Day, but nothing was reported. New England has been thoroughly scouting all the QB prospects expected to be available outside of Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and BYU’s Zach Wilson, but weren’t directly linked to Mills, making the Stanford QB a bit of an eyebrow-raiser for believers in The Lying Season™.

Well, there goes that narrative. According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, the Patriots recently “spent a long time on Zoom” with Mills.

So if you thought Mills was the Patriots’ guy, based on the mere fact that it was all quiet on the Stanford front, it’s time for a new theory.

To recap: the Patriots sent representatives to the Pro Days for Ohio State’s Justin Fields, North Dakota State’s Trey Lance, Alabama’s Mac Jones, and Florida’s Kyle Trask – including Bill Belichick himself in Tuscaloosa. They also attended the Senior Bowl, where they watched Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has reportedly been staying in touch with Mond since then.

• Share

  It would ostensibly be a giant waste of time to send top talent evaluators to all these quarterback events if the Patriots didn't intend to draft one. But as far as who they're particularly interested in taking? It's hard to believe anything anymore.
  
  Mills does make sense as a QB prospect the Patriots would like. Prototypical size. Highly recruited out of high school. Good football I.Q. Sharp pocket passer in the short-to-intermediate area. Excellent three-cone time for the position.
  
  The likelihood is that Belichick and the Pats are not targeting any one specific quarterback. If they draft a QB, it will be a pick that makes sense for them according to their draft board, or as part of a trade that they feel is good-enough value. If Belichick feels that it's more valuable to take Mills or Mond at 46th than to package multiple high picks to move up for Fields or Lance, that's what he's going to do. And if you want someone in particular, odds are Belichick is not going to do what you want. But now, if he does take a QB in the first two rounds, it'll be a player linked to them in some form.
  
  After all this, if they just didn't draft a quarterback, that would be the ultimate. They're starting the season with Cam Newton, either way. Just trying to set expectations.

MORE: Should The Patriots Trade Up?

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.

Sign me up for the 98.5 The Sports Hub email newsletter!

Get the latest Boston sports news and analysis, plus exclusive on-demand content and special giveaways from Boston's Home for Sports, 98.5 The Sports Hub.

First Name *

Last Name

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.