Patriots reportedly could target these two QBs if they trade out of No. 3 pick

The consensus is that the New England Patriots will take a quarterback in the first round of Thursday’s NFL Draft, but who it will be is still anyone's guess.

In ESPN’s latest draft intel series, Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler both mention the possibility of the Patriots trading out of the No. 3 overall pick, and both had interesting theories on how and which QB they’d target if that happened.

“I was reminded Tuesday night to not totally discount Robert Kraft's affinity for Tom Brady, who might see shades of himself in McCarthy, a fellow Michigan product,” Fowler wrote. “The Patriots could trade back and acquire McCarthy with a later pick.”

In Fowler’s scenario, the Patriots could move out of the third overall pick with a team possibly looking to come up for North Carolina’s Drake Maye (Minnesota seems to be the likeliest team to do so with the Nos. 11 and 23 overall picks) then turn around and package those picks to move back up — possibly No. 5 overall with Los Angeles, a team that desperately needs all the young, cheap players it can get given its cap situation — and grab McCarthy.

However, if New England does move back and both Maye and McCarthy are no longer options past the top five, Graziano believes the Pats could be interested in a different signal-caller.

“Washington's Michael Penix Jr. was among the quarterbacks with whom the Patriots visited in the pre-draft process, and people I've spoken to say that visit was to gather information on the lefty quarterback in case they decided to trade down,” Graziano said. “I believe they're high on him, though I don't think he's a consideration if they stay at No. 3.”