2020 NFL Mock Draft: Four teams land their QB of the future

29. New Orleans Saints: Joe Burrow, QB, LSU

New Orleans has some needs in the secondary and could use another talented wide receiver on offense, but I think the Saints need to think bigger than immediate need.

Drew Brees is now 40-years-old and while he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down, father time is undefeated. He’s still too talented to put them in a position to land a high draft pick, so why not pull the trigger on a promising player that happens to fall in a deep draft class? In this 2020 NFL mock draft, that player is LSU quarterback Joe Burrow.

Burrow has helped his draft stock more than just about any prospect in the country, as he has played his way into the Heisman mix through five weeks of football.

Through four games, Burrow has thrown 17 touchdowns and is completing an incredible 80% of his passes. This is the perfect time to finally decide on the heir apparent to Brees. Burrow would not be expected to be the guy right away and he would have the benefit of sitting and learning behind a legend.

30. New England Patriots: Brycen Hopkins, TE, Purdue

The New England Patriots’ biggest, and perhaps only, weakness at the moment is at the tight end position after Rob Gronkowski’s sudden retirement during the offseason.

Through four games in 2019, Tom Brady has completed just four passes to his tight ends, which just seems wrong after the near-decade of production from Gronk.

While this year’s crop of tight ends isn’t exciting at the surface, when you dive into the game of Purdue tight end Brycen Hopkins, you can see the potential he could have in this league.

That’s why I have the Patriots taking Hopkins with the 30th pick of this 2020 NFL mock draft.

He fits the mold of the slot tight end in today’s game, but also has the length and strength to play inline as well.

While he isn’t near the physical threat that Gronk was, he would give the Patriots an intriguing new weapon at the position going forward.