With the NFL Draft tonight, many Patriots fans are wondering how the Kraft/Belichick tandem will spend its chips in the first round. With Tom Brady on the precipice of retiring, it’s possible––even likely––that New England decides to shop for a future franchise quarterback. Of the top draft prospects, several names have come up in Patriots Nation forums, such as Baker Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, Josh Rosen, but I’m here to tell you about Jimmy Garoppolo 2.0: Kyle Lauletta.
Like Jimmy G, Kyle Lauletta was a three-year starting quarterback at a small FCS college. Lauletta played football at University of Richmond, a division 1AA school, where he posted a 64.9% completion percentage with 3737 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 11 games. Despite his college stats not quite measuring up with Garoppolo’s, Lauletta’s intangibles and draft outlook are extremely similar; both are tall, comfortable pocket passers who throw very accurately on short- and medium-length routes, yet they lack big arms.
Also like Garoppolo, the Senior Bowl Most Outstanding Player is undervalued as an NFL prospect going into the draft––he’s projected, at best, as a second-round pick. Coming out of high school, Lauletta was reportedly recruited by Penn State, among several other FBS schools (The Ringer).
“[He’s] a leader, a competitor, a guy that loves football. All the intangibles, what you want a quarterback to look like, play like, lead like.” (Richmond HC Russ Huesman on Kyle Lauletta)
At Richmond, Lauletta played under a pro-style offense, calling out the mike linebacker pre-snap––something that some NFL quarterbacks struggle doing today. What more out of a successor for Tom Brady could Bill Belichick want than an intelligent, NFL-ready pocket passer who’s a good leader?
In high school, Lauletta also played lacrosse, something that we all know Belichick fantasizes about. If I’m the Patriots, I’d save my two first-rounders to bolster the defense or trade down and utilize either my late second-round pick or third to draft Lauletta.
The Lauletta shoe fits for the Pats, but will Bill capitalize?
(Statistics via The Washington Post)
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