The New England Patriots own 12 picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, including the No. 32 selection, which is the focal point of many football experts. There are so many predictions about what the Patriots will do with their first-round selection. Many expect head coach Bill Belichick to take a quarterback, but some experts believe that the Patriots might take in a replacement for retired tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com believes that Belichick will break tradition and select a quarterback in the first round with the 32nd overall pick.

In his almost two decades as head coach, he hasn’t selected a signal-caller, wide receiver or center in the first round.

Patriots could select quarterback with No. 32 pick

The highest-ranked quarterback taken by Belichick was Jimmy Garoppolo, whom he took with the second round pick in 2014 as a possible heir apparent to veteran quarterback Tom Brady. However, Belichick shipped him to the San Francisco 49ers two seasons ago after Brady publicly declared that he wanted to play until he’s 45 years old.

According to Pauline, the Patriots could select West Virginia quarterback Will Grier at the end of the first round. Grier and Daniel Jones of Duke both impressed the Patriots brass when they visited Gillette Stadium recently.

Earlier, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported that the Patriots are interested in selecting Jones, but he might not be available at No. 32 after his draft stock rose dramatically. If Jones is unavailable, the 6-foot-2, 217-pound Grier could be the next best available option for the Patriots.

Despite being undersized, Grier is considered as one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the draft, completing 67 percent of his passes for 3,865 yards with 37 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season for West Virginia.

With Brady playing until he’s 45, the Patriots have a lot of time in their hands to develop Grier as a possible successor to the veteran signal-caller.

Patriots might take chance on defensive player

However, Peter King of NBC Sports predicts that the Patriots might take a chance on a troubled defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons of Mississippi State.

While he’s not sure about his prediction, King said there is a possibility that the Patriots could select Simmons, whom he describes as the second-best defensive tackle in the draft behind Quinnen Williams. Taking in Simmons will be a big gamble for the Patriots as he recently suffered a torn ACL and won’t be available to play until 2020. Also, Simmons got into a controversy after he was involved in a physical altercation with a woman. King said Simmons could have the kind of impact Jaylon Smith had for the Dallas Cowboys after a serious knee injury in his last college game.
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