New Name Arises in Potential Patriots Quarterback Conversation

The New England Patriots have been linked with pretty much every quarterback option on the market. Carson Wentz, Deshaun Watson, Marcus Mariota, Mac Jones… There are so many options for head coach Bill Belichick. Each of these players may be a good fit for Belichick’s system. Guess what… There’s another brilliant option for New England. Which player has the potential to join the Patriots at quarterback in 2021?

Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond won MVP of the Senior Bowl. He is turning heads now, and maybe the Patriots should consider giving him a chance.

Mond may not be a candidate for the Patriots’ No.15 pick. Maybe he is more like a later-round option.

According to NESN’s Zack Cox, Mond is a reliable later-round player.

"It's a huge sign of everything that I've worked for."@seniorbowl MVP @TheKellenMond (@AggieFootball) joined @movethesticks and @andrewsiciliano! pic.twitter.com/ijIVIwCHYp

— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) January 30, 2021

A potential target for the empty Patriots quarterback spot

Steve Balestrieri of PatsFans.com provided a good analysis of Mond’s game, offering details on the quarterback’s strengths and weaknesses.

“The Patriots Erhardt-Perkins system is a good fit for Mond and with good coaching, he could blossom into a productive NFL starter. But he is a developmental prospect, and that means 1-2 years as a backup before he’s ready to be a full-time starter. He is in no way a Day1 starter. Mond showed his promise and his struggles as he was the Senior Bowl MVP, ripping some throws into tight windows and then staring down a WR and having a would-be interception bounce off a defender’s chest.”

Mond has great arm strength, touch, and speed of release. His arm can fit passes into the “tight windows” Balestrieri wrote about.

Of course, Mond isn’t as mobile as Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, but his leg game is pretty strong.

Mond has 22 rushing touchdowns in his career, and has rushed for 1,609 yards.

Here comes the big problem. Mond has a tendency to stare down a single receiver. This was an issue with his tight end Jaylen Wydermyer and Ainias Smith.  They were top targets in 2020 and the quarterback would lock in on them as the primary target. Mond holds the ball too long, and this resulted in incompletions and seven sacks.

Mond is a fourth-round pick for NFL teams that need a young signal-caller and have a bridge player on the field.