Friday 27 April 2018 19:45, UK
This year's NFL Draft has already begun with a bang and despite plenty of speculation, the New England Patriots did not take the plunge on a new quarterback on day one.
Baker Mayfield was the surprise No 1 pick as for the first time since 1999 five signal callers were taken in the first round.
Baltimore traded up to pick number 32 to land Lamar Jackson with the last selection of opening night, a name that had been strongly linked with the Pats over the last couple of days.
Despite a pair of opening day picks, Bill Belichick opted against an additional face under centre meaning we face an intriguing couple of days as New England ponder their long-term future with or without Tom Brady.
The AFC champions, who lost to Philadelphia in February's Super Bowl, have a couple of picks in the second round and when Day Two gets underway on Friday night, they will again be a team to watch, but typically it will be some of the lesser names who come under the spotlight.
Add to that the usual offseason speculation about the long-term future of their 40-year-old, five-time Super Bowl-winning star man and Pats fans have a couple of exciting days ahead.
In short, probably. But the lack of any official verbal confirmation from Brady himself had caused some of the more imaginative observers to note that, while they do believe he will play in 2018, they cannot say that for sure.
However, Brady's agent, Don Yee, may have put an end to any retirement rumours on Tuesday by telling ESPN that he expects his client to return next season.
Brady is also yet to appear at the Patriots' offseason workouts. He has been in Qatar with his family and reports suggest that, even after returning, he could spend time with body coach Alex Guerrero rather than the team. Brady has, though, missed the offseason programme three times before.
The veteran QB has previously talked about playing until the age of 45, but unsurprisingly those decisions now seem to be made on more of a year-by-year basis and the Patriots ought to be well prepared for when he eventually throws in the towel.
Brady has shown no sign of slowing up though, and finished the 2017 regular season with the third-highest completion percentage of his career (66.3 per cent) and picked up his third Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the league award.
Despite that, he is still human and head coach Bill Belichick will know that sooner or later New England will need a new hero.
Assuming Brady turns up, few would bet against him once again producing the level of performance we have become accustomed to, meaning a rookie QB would have the benefit of learning from him for a couple of years.
With the top five gone, Mason Rudolph looks to be the next in line to be picked. While he is widely regarded as a late second or early third round pick, the simple fact five passers went so early could push him up Draft boards. The Patriots first pick on day two is No 43, but it's not guaranteed he'll be available then.
After passing on Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Josh Rosen in favour of Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick, the New York Giants could have a quarterback in mind to learn from Eli Manning with their No 34 selection. Both the Denver Broncos (40) and Miami Dolphins (42) could consider young signal-callers.
If they all pass on Rudolph, he has the size - six-foot-five - and arm strength to have caught the eye of Bill Belichick and could learn the rest from the master himself.
Later in the second round, the Patriots have the 63rd pick, and they own one third (95th overall) at which they could add a player to the QB room. If it's not Rudolph, Kyle Lauletta, Mike White and Luke Falk would be the next viable options.
Lauletta played in the FCS for Richmond but the Patriots don't shy away from small-school quarterback - having chosen Jimmy Garoppolo from Eastern Illinois just four years ago. Lauletta doesn't have a rocket arm, but is a smart, savvy player who was a two-time team captain.
Then there's White, the former high school pitcher, who can rip a laser throw but struggles to handle pressure in the pocket. It would seem less likely the team chooses a player with the physical attributes over a proven strong decision-maker, but it's possible.
Finally, Falk looks the part at six-foot-four, but may not be worth a pick in the top three rounds. He impressed for Washington State in 2016, but without taking a step last season, his NFL potential has been questioned.
Riley Ferguson, Kurt Benkert and Chase Litton are players expected to be late-round selections, but considering the Pats have Brian Hoyer and no one else, one of them could end up in New England.
The Patriots certainly have form with plucking quality QBs from outside of the first round. In 2014 they selected Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round (pick No. 62) and trained him as Brady's replacement.
But after watching from the sidelines as Brady continued to produce the goods, Garoppolo was sent to the San Francisco 49ers last October in exchange for a second-round pick in this week's Draft.
That move made sense for both parties at the time, but the 26-year-old has gone on to prove his ability and ended the 2017 season with a 5-0 record, earning him a five-year contract extension worth more than $100 million.
The most recent QB to pass through the Patriots, Jacoby Brissett, was also off-loaded last season after being selected in round three of the 2016 Draft and has gone on to do reasonably well for the Indianapolis Colts in the absence of Andrew Luck.
The Patriots now need to nurture some new, young talent at QB all over again. As ever at this time of year, they are keeping their cards close to their chest, and there could be plenty of surprises yet to come.
The next two days of the NFL Draft are exclusively live on Sky Sports with day two underway from midnight on Saturday on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Mix.
Check out our NFL Draft support programming with Neil Reynolds, Jeff Reinebold, Solomon Wilcots, the Around the NFL guys and MMQB's Peter King who will give us their informed opinion on what to expect and what happens in Dallas next week.
You can follow all the build-up to the NFL Draft with us at sky.mnosports.com/nfl and on @SkySportsNFL
