Wishful Pigskins

It's GM Season in the NFL. 

So many possible futures; so many questions to be answered. I don't think Bill Belichick needs my help but has a lack of institutional knowledge ever shut anyone up on the Internet?

No. 

The answer is no.

Pay J.C. Jackson?

It doesn't feel like something Belichick will do but then, who saw the Great Free Agent Spending Spree of 2021 coming? I'm guessing Belichick has a number and I'm also guessing it isn't the same number Jackson and his agent have in mind.

Honestly, I'm not sure how pigskin pundits and bobbleheads have any doubts at this point in human history about the outcome here. I'm not sure where Jackson will be playing football in 2022 other than Not In New England.

Best Guess: Cincinnati Bengals. They've got the cap space and the recency bias (don't they talk themselves into "We win the Super Bowl if we had Jackson on Kupp."?) to make this happen.

I'd rather see Jackson in the NFC, of course. Maybe the Seattle Seahawks in a vain attempt to revisit the Legion of Boom?

What to do with Pick #21?

I think this one has a lot to do with where you come down on Nelson Agholor. And how afraid you are that Bill Belichick will draft a wide receiver in the first round.

Of course, it also depends on who is available when the Patriots are on the clock with #21. OSU WR Chris Olave is trending on a number of mock drafts. The counterpoint is a fast, athletic, leaping buildings in a single bound linebacker named Devin Lloyd out of Utah, who sounds too good to fall to #21. 

Best Guess: Hey, it will be fun to think about all the way up to around 10:00pm ET when Belichick trades out of the first round for a second and fourth. 

Or Belichck will draft a defensive lineman.

Do some people still think Mac Jones sucks?

Yes. Yes they do.

Not being Tom Brady will have that effect.

Will Jones make that fabled Second Year Leap in 2022? Let's say he gets 20% better (I like to keep the math simple because I have simple math skills). That would look something like:

Best Guess: 4550 Pass Yards, 81% CMP%, 8.75 YPA, 26 TD, 10 INT

In case you're wondering: That would not suck.

What about the old guys?

Consensus amongst gridiron cognoscenti is that Bill Belichick moves on one year too early rather than one year too late. Hey, there is no 'u' in sentimentality. So, this one seems easy. Sort the roster by age descending and get out your red pen.

Best Guess: You're going to need a program to know who's playing on defense next year.

Thanks for the pigskin memories and best of luck in your future endeavors to all but in particular to Dont'a Hightower, Devin McCourty, and Matthew Slater. 

Patriots Adjacent Question: Is Tom Brady really, really retired?

It seems like pigskin pundits and bobbleheads, who spent years trying to push him off stage, are now desperate for one more encore from the GOAT. 

How does that Five Stages of Grief go? Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance; and we're all definitely still in denial, though I'm not sure this is always a progression. After all, Super Bowl LV-426 was pretty depressing without Brady. (Until the end, when I got so angry I wanted to turn into a lion and eat all the zebras.) And all those proposed scenarios that put Brady in a 49ers uniform are a form of bargaining, aren't they? I do admit, the 49ers and Buccaneers swapping Jimmy Garoppolo and Brady has a poetic subtext I find both amusing and satisfying, and those stories will be a popular diversion up until a few other shoes drop. I'm a little surprised there haven't been any rumors of a Brady reunion with Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas, and isn't Derek Carr a perfect fit with the Bruce Arians' offensive philosophy?

Best Guess: Brady waits until just before the trade deadline to come out of retirement and replace an injured Josh Allen to lead the Buffalo Bills to their first Super Bowl championship.

Because football is crazy.