Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo waited a long time to get selected in the 2014 NFL Draft but when his name was called, it came from an unlikely team in the New England Patriots who took Garoppolo with the No. 62 overall pick. While some experts may have thought that the decision was a bit high or the wrong team, the selection has many pieces to it and may turn out to be the best thing to happen for the Patriots.
Garoppolo was obviously selected to become the replacement for Tom Brady when he does retire at some point. There are fans who will ask why the team doesn’t believe in waiting around with Ryan Mallett, who was taken in the third round in 2011. There has to be a game plan here with the Patriots and Mallett. It could involve a trade to bring back a good draft pick for 2015 or the team is thinking about the idea of leaving Mallett on the roster to begin with while allowing Garoppolo to be the third-string quarterback.
However at the end of the day, the Patriots saw something that makes them believe that Garoppolo is their quarterback for the future over Mallett. It could be the lightning-quick release that Garoppolo has that reminds people of Dan Marino but there is something there. Brady isn’t going anywhere for the next three or four years so Garoppolo will have plenty of time to learn under him and will be more than ready when the time comes for him to hit the field.
There is something about a quarterback who throws for nearly 12,600 yards during his college career. The New England offense is one that suits Garoppolo well with their many shotgun formations and if he is given the time he needs to learn, he has the potential to be a star in the NFL for years to come. The key though is time. New England shouldn’t be handing the keys to Garoppolo in the next year or two. Brady doesn’t appear to want to retire anytime soon anyway so that shouldn’t be a problem but maybe that’s why Mallett is still on the roster for now just in case Brady were to get hurt during the 2014 season.