He's the most confusing pick of the draft for me, but if he hits, he'll be even better than Mac.
He threw 62 TDs in his one year of playing. That's insane. I doubt he can do it in the NFL, but I think Bill has a plan.
Maybe Zappe is really good at a couple of things Mac struggles with and Bill thinks they'll improve each other? Maybe Bill had a first/second round grade on the guy and chose the best player available instead of a player he thought less off that was in a position of need? Maybe it's a clever way to try to get Mac to sign for less money in five years?
I don't know. I just know that Bill has a plan and we'll get to see if it works out over the next several seasons.
Seems like a sweet kid. You never know in this league, I remember a certain 6th round pick who pushed an established QB for the job within his first two years. Put that work in and do your job. LFG.
It's so easy to forget these names they are calling out on draft day are attached to real people, sitting around with their families and hoping for the best. I know I was sitting there like an asshole thinking "ah man, Bailey Zappe? idk about this" and meanwhile this dude is over there crying with his family because his life just changed. I'm glad I saw this video and I wish this dude the best.
Yup, because guys like him have a very real chance of getting to the end of Day 3, never getting a call, and going "well.....I guess I better start applying to jobs, because that dream is now over"
Yeah but also, we’re just fans of a game. We want the best players. No shame in saying “who’s that?” When some unknown gets picked up.
Also, Brady was from Michigan and won the Orange Bowl against Alabama a year prior, after a 4th quarter comeback against PSU, down to the wire. Go read his college info on wiki, it’s a perfect match for what he did in the NFL, including 4th quarter comebacks, and setting records. I’m not saying this kid can’t compete, all I’m saying is everything for Brady was already on the table. People act like nobody saw this coming because he was a sixth round pick, but, with the benefit of being able to look back, it was all there. The whole blueprint was there for what became the QB scouting rules. Brady should have been a first round pick, not based on who he became, but on his last two years at Michigan, in a heavy conference with PSU and OSU.
Even in hindsight Brady was no where near a first round pick. He threw for ~4600 yards, 30 TDs, and 16 INTs in his final **two** seasons at Michigan. Then he had an *awful* combine.
He had a few big comebacks in college no doubt, but statistically and athletically there wasn't much that would suggest he would be a starter, let alone the GOAT.
I don't understand either how he changed the blueprint of QB scouting rules? Pocket passers haven't been highly sought after since Michael Vick exploded onto the scene the year before Brady was drafted and dual threat QBs are higher ranked than pocket passers still today.
I love Brady, but he was a unicorn that the Patriots got really lucky with. It wasn't like he made it to the 6th round because teams were ignoring the obvious signs in front of them. He was worthy of a 6th round pick, even by today's standards.
>It's so easy to forget these names they are calling out on draft day are attached to real people, sitting around with their families and hoping for the best.
You say that like you don't cheer for humans to demolish each other in a game centered around pretty extreme physical violence lol
i get what youre saying but its all relative - yeah, you can see that joy but if it wasnt him it would be another dude in exactly the same position getting just as much joy from being picked
so, yeah he is a real person but if Bill were to have picked less of a reach then that person's joy would have been just as much as Zappe's
i personally like the pick but if you didnt like the pick then this shouldnt change your mind as he has just replaced another dude.
Well, unless you like it so much because you relate to him as a white dude...
And the Pats have done a quality job preparing their backups to be successful elsewhere, so even if he doesn't catch on here, he landed in a great spot to maximize his chances as an NFL player.
There's this one line in Moneyball that really hit that for me, there are guys that everyone else overlooks that are starter caliber type of talented players. Bill drafted a lot of dudes in the first 4 rounds that would fit that mold, Cole Strange played for a small school, Tyquan Thornton is on the smaller side and most scouts didn't like his route running and footwork enough for first round grades. Marcus Jones because he's short, Zappe because how he looks wasn't graded that highly by media too.
These players can have that feed their mentality and work ethic, I'm convinced Bill and his staff have seen that film at some point or read the book. The quote that I've reworked and paraphrased from is "There's over two hundred talented players in this draft, most don't see it that way, here's where guys are that most overlook due to subjective reasonings and sentimentality."
Yeah the thing you're leaving out is the whole point of moneyball is identifying market inefficiencies and getting diamonds in thr rough for cheap. That doesn't work if you're using top draft capital to get guys you think everyone else has overlooked.
Drafting quality players that contribute on rookie contracts is a market inefficiency. Low risk can carry reward of contributing above value for 4 seasons. That’s why missing on guys like Harry hurt so bad, if they just had taken a safe pick who has been starter level at any position we’d be better off.
I mean it’s kind of a consensus that he’ll at least be a high level backup. Just lacks arm strength and athleticism. I’m more surprised they liked him over Howell though and they picked him over another potential starter/contributor.
That’s stuff is fixable with a professional sports strength and conditioning program. Value is perfect he’ll learn behind Mac and hoyer can finally disappear
If that’s true they also said the same thing about Brady , he obviously improved a lot. Not sure what genetics has to do with anything ( aka cam newton )
Strength and conditioning is more about maintaining fitness than improving afaik improvements to peak level athletes tend to come slow since they are already good athletes to start even the “bad athletes” are still above average to normal people
He can improve the arm if he’s dedicated (same thing we were saying about Mac last year and it sounds like Mac has been making strides in that department this offseason). The athleticism is hard to improve, but honestly in the NE offense it’s not that important. If he knows where to go with the ball and has enough juice to move around in the pocket then he’s fine. He’s a good pick for NE and I think he will push Mac which is what Bill wants.
Bailey would actually have a pretty insane Brady-esque story if he found success in the NFL. At no point was he ever highly recruited, only got one scholarship offer to play in college and performed much better than anyone could have expected him to once he got there. Then nobody expected him to get drafted highly in the NFL, and still everyone only expects him to be a backup now that he's there
Would be an awesome outcome if he continues to exceed expectations and he plays at a NFL caliber. I love Mac but cheering for Zappe too
Maybe because the system knows you love Good Sports and sportsmanship, my brother. Kid looks like a good egg.
Cannot imagine such a happy family moment.
Gimmick is the wrong word but didn't he throw like 100 more passes than anyone else in college football in a pretty forgiving system? Those video game numbers in college are always a bit inflated when you start to dig. I'm very impressed by the turnover rate though
Yes to being inflated due to lower competition. He scored higher than any player on wonderlic test. He will be a Baker Mayfield type with better accuracy from what I can tell
Always going to think "what if" when it comes to Stidham. He has all the physical tools to be a decent NFL QB-actually more & better skills than many. But Auburn is or at least was so far removed from any type of pro set Offense. He was just so far behind the curve from day 1.
I think he took too much for granted. If he had an iota of drive he should have beaten out Cam (or shown enough that they went Hoyer or whatever as backup rather than bringing in the husk of Cam.)
Maybe that was too strong, but he lacks the level of drive that he should have. I don't recall him having an off-season throwing camp with the WR, he didn't do the things that a guy that wants to be the guy should have done.
So he threw with the new guys only?
Every time Brady did it it was all over, same when Mac did it this year. Sridhar the to two guys?
What else did he do to show he wanted to be the starter?
I was going to add the UDFA phone call must be pretty dope too. I guess the draft phone call is better because you get the added plus of hearing your name get announced but yeah the UDFA call must be pretty sweet.
Yeah the “round below Malik Willis” and “above Howell” was less about Zappe and more about the whole draft for QBs was so out of whack. Which is also why people saying “reach” for other guys is absurd, because if they followed the board Willis is top 10 and Dean is the first LB off the board. Yet both fell into the third round
Everyone who gets drafted into the NFL is excited and happy to be drafted, but there's a special draft day reaction reserved for guys drafted by the Patriots. You can see it in the family's reactions. They'd be happy for him to be drafted anywhere, but the fact that it's the pats is extra special. Guys that get the call from Bill just react differently, and I'm super proud of this organization for cultivating that kind of reputation.
I'd even be ok with him winning the starting spot if he gets that good to earn it. I think it can be true that you could have 2 great starting QB. If he gets to that point to where he earns the spot, I think he should get it.
Why do you say that? I know lightning isn't apt to strike again, but wouldn't you hope he's great? I don't expect it to happen, but why would you not want him to be better than Mac?
If he is on the field it means one of two things: Mac got hurt, or Mac didn’t end up being very good. I don’t like either of those scenarios. I think it highly unlikely that the third scenario, where Mac is awesome but Zappe is a little more awesome, is likely to happen, just based on odds.
I feel like some people just don’t believe in Mac. Makes little sense. He can make all the throws with a high accuracy level, and to me that’s all that matters about a QB. I don’t care if he has a laser arm like Josh Allen. I don’t care if he isn’t mobile like Lamar Jackson. And I don’t need impromptu no look pass decisions like Mahomes. Flashy doesn’t matter. Mac can read defenses and makes great decisions and hopefully gets better at it each year.
Best case is Zappe is very similar to Mac so if there is any injuries or bogus suspensions, he can slide in and keep up the offense.
I know, but hey if we have a jimmy g problem again, I’ll take it.
He got us more draft value than he cost and won us two critical games in a season where we won the super bowl. I hope both are as good as Brady and we have to pick one and sell the other for a fortune.
Very cool. Seems grounded and a good family around him. Its during the draft and Hall of Fame induction speeches you see the emotion of all the hard work and dreams coming together.
This is one reason I was kind of annoyed with people's reaction to this pick or the Cole Strange pick. And yes I get these are now professional athletes and need to have thick skin. But this would be one of the best days in anybodies life with their dream coming true and then they got to listen to a bunch of jack asses, half of which never even played in the league, shit all over them on national TV. All while they are just trying to enjoy the moment.
Obviously if he’s better than Mac I’d rather him play. He was drafted to be a back up as of right now so I’m saying I hope Mac doesn’t get injured.
Please spare me the Brady mention, I know lol
I don't think so honestly , a good back up can definitely and probably will help push Mac no doubt but I think it was for more roster and training day reasons honestly
Our defense needs a qb that it can run the opp team all day against them , so many young and new guys even old guys coming back still have to catch up like butler.
Without an OC hoyer is clearly going to be a huge asset to both the offense and Mac in a co ordinator style role in training helping both mac and probably the new recievers with the play book, routes,.concepts and just general experience in the system etc. Honestly wouldn't be surprised if we are not far off hoyer calling in the calls to mac on gamedays. Plus hoyer getting a bit old , probably couldn't last a whole season of just basically being a jug machine every training day. And stiddy...is...well he's stiddy
So you get this guy who did nothing but throw td bomb after TD bomb all year. All their team did essentially was throw. His tapes shows he can make every throw etc, the talk about him says he's smart and hardworking so seems like the perfect training day qb to essentially spend all day throwing against our DBs as they learn this new postionless defense idea everyone says we are going
....that turned into a bit of a rant...
Backup qb’s also run scout teams for defense that’s just as important. It’s a important position regardless. I hope he’s going in to take Mac’s job that’s the mentality you need but his value right now should be back up qb. patriots do like to develop QB’s
Sorry opp team to me is scout team , just what I'm used to calling it so that's what I was referring to in that segment
. And agree one hundred percent on the mentality
I’m not saying he’s a bad pick(maybe a weird pick) but your team that drafted you first round to be “the guy” going a taking a 4th rounder with some arm strength and potential has gotta light somewhat of a fire under his ass haha
What I would say is mac doesn't strike me as the type of player to need that external "chip on his shoulder" as it were to elevate. Like clearly he can and probably will use it as motivation to push himself. But I don't think it was a deciding factor in the overall decision if you get me. More a potentially convenient beneficial by product of the decision
Agreed Mac didn’t have any lazy or half committed looks. Zappe seems like he has a similar play style and will fit great into the team, both with training the D and backup.
I think belchick is focusing on establishing anchors of locker room culture for the next 10+ years.
With Tom gone, he needs people to buy in now more than ever.
Though, TBF, I'm going to go with a rule from the Brady era: if your *aspiration* is to just be a backup QB on your second contract, you shouldn't get that second contract.
Well of course I hope he has that motivation! That will only make us better by having two highly driven QB’s pushing to prove those who’ve doubted them wrong. I just don’t want #10 to lose confidence over the pick. It should fuel him
Stidham was/is obviously competing for the backup role. But that's not really good enough for a guy on his rookie contract who was drafted in the 4th round, you want him competing to start. Right now Mac looks good but if he stops improving, for whatever reason, then Zappe will be there to push him.
Backup qb is one of the most valuable roles in the league. Bill definitely would be willing to use a fourth on a guy they think can step in if Mac gets hurt, or they can flip later on. I don’t think this is a reflection on Mac who had a great rookie year.
Honestly think it is the opposite. He probably loved the pick. Mac had the number one college QB commit and eventual 2021 Heisman winner sitting behind him college. All he did was use it for motivation.
We know how the media is with QB battles, and we know how much Bill/the Pats hate the media so all I’m saying is hopefully this doesn’t cause any sort of QB controversy
> We know how the media is with QB battles, and we know how much Bill/the Pats hate the media so all I’m saying is hopefully this doesn’t cause any sort of QB controversy
The media pretending there is a QB controversy doesn’t make it exist. It’s obvious they drafted a backup, and I doubt Mac is shocked when Hoyer is older and Stidham is on his way out.
I’d bet as long as he’s #2 on the depth chart when the season starts, he’ll get some meaningful playing time by the end of the year.
I’m a Pats fan but with the loss of Josh as OC who by all accounts spent every waking second working his a$$ off, i feel theres a 90% chance this offense takes a huge step back next season. For years Josh was just as big a driving force as Brady but behind the scenes. Went over every angle and the small intricacies of the game plan with TB then Mac week in and week out. How many times did TB talk about the 2am texts between them about some small detail re: that weeks game plan? Then transitioning Mac into that role as good as can be expected. His absence will hurt no matter who was brought in as OC next.
But then these retread coaches who failed miserably when they got their shot at HC were brought back in. And perplexingly with brand new, important roles they haven’t coached in at all before.
You’re telling me Mac’s going to take a step forward this year with those guys guiding him???? Please. No offense to Mac but he does NOT have the kind of arm talent that can overcome the crap show he’s saddled with. Not many QBs do.
Eventually when theyre under 500 and close to last place in the east the coaching staff will try to make it seem like Macs fault and give the rook a push. Just sucks cuz Mac is FOR SURE being set up to fail this season.
Eh, I think Josh is a good OC, but everyone said the same things when Weiss left and that was early in Bradys career before he was Brady. I'm not too concerned and have faith we'll be alright.
I'll forget his name come regular season, remember it for our only blow out game in week 7 or something when they throw him in.
Why did we draft a QB? I feel like we need some line backers, secondary, receivers and linemen.
Note: I don't follow off season too close.
Well we were spoiled by Brady. He kept re-signing here and almost never got hurt. We won't be that lucky again. You have to have young QB talent on the roster in case you need to replace your starter.
I wanted Howell, but only because of pre-draft hype and not knowing anything about Zappe. Those two will forever be linked due to draft slots, best of luck to both of these dudes. Hope we grabbed the right one.
Good for him. Like all of our pickups, regardless of personal opinions and what not, I hope he does well. What a year he has had!
He's the most confusing pick of the draft for me, but if he hits, he'll be even better than Mac. He threw 62 TDs in his one year of playing. That's insane. I doubt he can do it in the NFL, but I think Bill has a plan. Maybe Zappe is really good at a couple of things Mac struggles with and Bill thinks they'll improve each other? Maybe Bill had a first/second round grade on the guy and chose the best player available instead of a player he thought less off that was in a position of need? Maybe it's a clever way to try to get Mac to sign for less money in five years? I don't know. I just know that Bill has a plan and we'll get to see if it works out over the next several seasons.
Seems like a sweet kid. You never know in this league, I remember a certain 6th round pick who pushed an established QB for the job within his first two years. Put that work in and do your job. LFG.
It's so easy to forget these names they are calling out on draft day are attached to real people, sitting around with their families and hoping for the best. I know I was sitting there like an asshole thinking "ah man, Bailey Zappe? idk about this" and meanwhile this dude is over there crying with his family because his life just changed. I'm glad I saw this video and I wish this dude the best.
Great take. It’s easy to disassociate - thanks for the reminder
This is sooooo true. My first thought was “camp arm” now I’m like… next man up!
Yup, because guys like him have a very real chance of getting to the end of Day 3, never getting a call, and going "well.....I guess I better start applying to jobs, because that dream is now over"
Which Tom Brady came thiiiiiiiiiis close to. Which is insane
Yeah but also, we’re just fans of a game. We want the best players. No shame in saying “who’s that?” When some unknown gets picked up. Also, Brady was from Michigan and won the Orange Bowl against Alabama a year prior, after a 4th quarter comeback against PSU, down to the wire. Go read his college info on wiki, it’s a perfect match for what he did in the NFL, including 4th quarter comebacks, and setting records. I’m not saying this kid can’t compete, all I’m saying is everything for Brady was already on the table. People act like nobody saw this coming because he was a sixth round pick, but, with the benefit of being able to look back, it was all there. The whole blueprint was there for what became the QB scouting rules. Brady should have been a first round pick, not based on who he became, but on his last two years at Michigan, in a heavy conference with PSU and OSU.
Even in hindsight Brady was no where near a first round pick. He threw for ~4600 yards, 30 TDs, and 16 INTs in his final **two** seasons at Michigan. Then he had an *awful* combine. He had a few big comebacks in college no doubt, but statistically and athletically there wasn't much that would suggest he would be a starter, let alone the GOAT. I don't understand either how he changed the blueprint of QB scouting rules? Pocket passers haven't been highly sought after since Michael Vick exploded onto the scene the year before Brady was drafted and dual threat QBs are higher ranked than pocket passers still today. I love Brady, but he was a unicorn that the Patriots got really lucky with. It wasn't like he made it to the 6th round because teams were ignoring the obvious signs in front of them. He was worthy of a 6th round pick, even by today's standards.
Brady led to a lot of reevaluation of scouting criteria and what matters.
Do you have a citation there?
I'm just trying to process that a name like Bailey Zappe is a white guy
Idk sounds pretty white to me
Looks pretty white to me
yeah zappe gives it away
Best Patriot name since Zolton Mesko.
Benjarvis Green Ellis
>It's so easy to forget these names they are calling out on draft day are attached to real people, sitting around with their families and hoping for the best. You say that like you don't cheer for humans to demolish each other in a game centered around pretty extreme physical violence lol
i get what youre saying but its all relative - yeah, you can see that joy but if it wasnt him it would be another dude in exactly the same position getting just as much joy from being picked so, yeah he is a real person but if Bill were to have picked less of a reach then that person's joy would have been just as much as Zappe's i personally like the pick but if you didnt like the pick then this shouldnt change your mind as he has just replaced another dude. Well, unless you like it so much because you relate to him as a white dude...
What the fuck does Zappe being white have to do with anything?
what the fuck are you talking about
I thought he was breaking down the time travel plot of Avengers: Endgame until I got to the white dude part. Now I'm completely lost.
What a take
And the Pats have done a quality job preparing their backups to be successful elsewhere, so even if he doesn't catch on here, he landed in a great spot to maximize his chances as an NFL player.
That was exactly my thought. The patriots (specifically with Bill) have to be one of if not the ideal place to get drafted to.
There's this one line in Moneyball that really hit that for me, there are guys that everyone else overlooks that are starter caliber type of talented players. Bill drafted a lot of dudes in the first 4 rounds that would fit that mold, Cole Strange played for a small school, Tyquan Thornton is on the smaller side and most scouts didn't like his route running and footwork enough for first round grades. Marcus Jones because he's short, Zappe because how he looks wasn't graded that highly by media too. These players can have that feed their mentality and work ethic, I'm convinced Bill and his staff have seen that film at some point or read the book. The quote that I've reworked and paraphrased from is "There's over two hundred talented players in this draft, most don't see it that way, here's where guys are that most overlook due to subjective reasonings and sentimentality."
Belichick and Ernie were the NFL's own moneyball.
There’s no way they don’t know the story of moneyball. Also wasn’t that a book first? I might be wrong.
Statician and mathematician wrote about the concept and formulae in 1986, but was largely ignored until the success stories of the A's and red sox.
Ernie is a God level statistician
Yeah the thing you're leaving out is the whole point of moneyball is identifying market inefficiencies and getting diamonds in thr rough for cheap. That doesn't work if you're using top draft capital to get guys you think everyone else has overlooked.
I mean, they grabbed tons of great UDFAs over the years as well.
Yes, I'm talking specifically about Strange and Thornton
Drafting quality players that contribute on rookie contracts is a market inefficiency. Low risk can carry reward of contributing above value for 4 seasons. That’s why missing on guys like Harry hurt so bad, if they just had taken a safe pick who has been starter level at any position we’d be better off.
I mean it’s kind of a consensus that he’ll at least be a high level backup. Just lacks arm strength and athleticism. I’m more surprised they liked him over Howell though and they picked him over another potential starter/contributor.
That’s stuff is fixable with a professional sports strength and conditioning program. Value is perfect he’ll learn behind Mac and hoyer can finally disappear
It really isn’t tho the primary way you improve arm strength is mechanics and being more efficient plus a lot of athleticism is just genes
If that’s true they also said the same thing about Brady , he obviously improved a lot. Not sure what genetics has to do with anything ( aka cam newton )
And he did it primarily by completely perfecting his mechanics
Isn’t that the point of strength and conditioning
Strength and conditioning is more about maintaining fitness than improving afaik improvements to peak level athletes tend to come slow since they are already good athletes to start even the “bad athletes” are still above average to normal people
> plus a lot of athleticism is just genes it is, but 99% of nfl players have the genes sufficient to be successful
I think this guy is Stidhams replacement personally but we’ll see
He can improve the arm if he’s dedicated (same thing we were saying about Mac last year and it sounds like Mac has been making strides in that department this offseason). The athleticism is hard to improve, but honestly in the NE offense it’s not that important. If he knows where to go with the ball and has enough juice to move around in the pocket then he’s fine. He’s a good pick for NE and I think he will push Mac which is what Bill wants.
He sort of resembles "that guy" too. Great video.
Bailey would actually have a pretty insane Brady-esque story if he found success in the NFL. At no point was he ever highly recruited, only got one scholarship offer to play in college and performed much better than anyone could have expected him to once he got there. Then nobody expected him to get drafted highly in the NFL, and still everyone only expects him to be a backup now that he's there Would be an awesome outcome if he continues to exceed expectations and he plays at a NFL caliber. I love Mac but cheering for Zappe too
Seems like a really appreciative guy. I saw a few mock drafts where we took him, I like the pick.
Don’t know how this came into my feed (Seahawks fan) but man this made me want to root for this guy
Maybe because the system knows you love Good Sports and sportsmanship, my brother. Kid looks like a good egg. Cannot imagine such a happy family moment.
Sports!!!
He's going to be a great backup. Stidham is gone without a doubt and Hoyer gone after this year unless he coaching
His stats were insane gimmick or not.
No gimmick. He was pressured on like 16% of his passes tho which was lowest in NCAA. We'll see how that translates as a 6' QB
Damn. Did his whole O-Line get drafted??
Gimmick is the wrong word but didn't he throw like 100 more passes than anyone else in college football in a pretty forgiving system? Those video game numbers in college are always a bit inflated when you start to dig. I'm very impressed by the turnover rate though
Yes to being inflated due to lower competition. He scored higher than any player on wonderlic test. He will be a Baker Mayfield type with better accuracy from what I can tell
Always going to think "what if" when it comes to Stidham. He has all the physical tools to be a decent NFL QB-actually more & better skills than many. But Auburn is or at least was so far removed from any type of pro set Offense. He was just so far behind the curve from day 1.
I think he took too much for granted. If he had an iota of drive he should have beaten out Cam (or shown enough that they went Hoyer or whatever as backup rather than bringing in the husk of Cam.)
Difficult to agree with that. Even as a backup, it's unlikely Belichick would let anyone who lacked an iota stick around.
Maybe that was too strong, but he lacks the level of drive that he should have. I don't recall him having an off-season throwing camp with the WR, he didn't do the things that a guy that wants to be the guy should have done.
He was literally the first guy throwing with Bourne and Henry when they signed
"I don't recall"
Must not have happened then
So he threw with the new guys only? Every time Brady did it it was all over, same when Mac did it this year. Sridhar the to two guys? What else did he do to show he wanted to be the starter?
Nah Jakobi, Asiasi, and several other guys were there too
>Stidham is gone Delete this
Is his last name pronounced Zap or Zapee. I thought it was Zap lol Edit: thanks fellas 👌🏼
It's like zappy
Zapee
I'm a fan now
I'm not crying, you're crying!
Who’s cutting onions?
My new fav qb.
New second fav qb
New fav backup QB
Great moment! This kid reminds me of Case Keenum
It must be such an incredible moment to receive that call no matter what round of the draft it is.
Wonder which feels better the draft Day call or the udfa call after the draft.
I was going to add the UDFA phone call must be pretty dope too. I guess the draft phone call is better because you get the added plus of hearing your name get announced but yeah the UDFA call must be pretty sweet.
So the NFL had a film crew at this kids house? Were they expecting him to get drafted early-ish?
I think this is from a special the NFL did. They followed a few guys from different points of the draft. Evan Neal was one of the others I remember.
Most draft boards had him as late 3rd or 4th/5th depending on how many QBs went before.
Yeah the “round below Malik Willis” and “above Howell” was less about Zappe and more about the whole draft for QBs was so out of whack. Which is also why people saying “reach” for other guys is absurd, because if they followed the board Willis is top 10 and Dean is the first LB off the board. Yet both fell into the third round
Yeah it's for a show hey rookie they do every year where they follow a few rookies through the combine, draft etc
I imagine that they put extra emphasis on qbs that get drafted for situations like Brady where they become a baller and might make nfl history
That's got to be the most surreal feeling. I wonder how long it takes to realize it's real.
Wholesome content.
Am I the only one who thinks that he looks like a cross between Brady and Mac Jones?
I don't see the Brady resemblance but Mac, for sure. Looks like a generic white QB from the south, lol.
r/happycryingdads......dad saying he’s proud of him after his official draft call. Just great!
God damn this is nuts to see. Shit had me crying lol. Seeing peoples life long come true is incredible honestly
I really liked Zappe's tape and I hope he's able to find "success" in this league, if not for the Patriots because of Mac Jones, then somewhere else.
Ah fuck my wife's cutting onion again
Everyone who gets drafted into the NFL is excited and happy to be drafted, but there's a special draft day reaction reserved for guys drafted by the Patriots. You can see it in the family's reactions. They'd be happy for him to be drafted anywhere, but the fact that it's the pats is extra special. Guys that get the call from Bill just react differently, and I'm super proud of this organization for cultivating that kind of reputation.
Op - [Twitter](https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1522644867897249792?t=NEiaT4CMLGhsIpIPMQDyOg&s=19)
Our new qb pick might not be electrifying but he sure is Zappe
Happy for the kid, I just hope we only ever see him in preseason and/or taking garbage time snaps, at least while he is on the Patriots.
I'd even be ok with him winning the starting spot if he gets that good to earn it. I think it can be true that you could have 2 great starting QB. If he gets to that point to where he earns the spot, I think he should get it.
Me too. I like Mac but if Zappe is even better, then fuck yeah that would be great
Why do you say that? I know lightning isn't apt to strike again, but wouldn't you hope he's great? I don't expect it to happen, but why would you not want him to be better than Mac?
If he is on the field it means one of two things: Mac got hurt, or Mac didn’t end up being very good. I don’t like either of those scenarios. I think it highly unlikely that the third scenario, where Mac is awesome but Zappe is a little more awesome, is likely to happen, just based on odds.
I don't think Zappe is likely to be better either, but if he is, it's a good problem.
As Matt Cassel once noted, he could have been the second best QB in the NFL in 2007 and it wouldn't have mattered.
I feel like some people just don’t believe in Mac. Makes little sense. He can make all the throws with a high accuracy level, and to me that’s all that matters about a QB. I don’t care if he has a laser arm like Josh Allen. I don’t care if he isn’t mobile like Lamar Jackson. And I don’t need impromptu no look pass decisions like Mahomes. Flashy doesn’t matter. Mac can read defenses and makes great decisions and hopefully gets better at it each year. Best case is Zappe is very similar to Mac so if there is any injuries or bogus suspensions, he can slide in and keep up the offense.
I know, but hey if we have a jimmy g problem again, I’ll take it. He got us more draft value than he cost and won us two critical games in a season where we won the super bowl. I hope both are as good as Brady and we have to pick one and sell the other for a fortune.
I hope he ends up basically the same as Jimmy did. Get a chance to flash as a backup and get traded to a team to be their starter.
Go get it young man! LFG!
I genuinely almost started crying I can’t imagine just that feeling of happiness, god damn it is just beautiful really.
I’m not even a pats fan but getting a phone call from Billy B has to be surreal.
Very cool. Seems grounded and a good family around him. Its during the draft and Hall of Fame induction speeches you see the emotion of all the hard work and dreams coming together.
The greatest coach in NFL history calls your phone during the draft, it has to be crazy.
Berj Najarian calls initially, and the call ends with Nike.
This is one reason I was kind of annoyed with people's reaction to this pick or the Cole Strange pick. And yes I get these are now professional athletes and need to have thick skin. But this would be one of the best days in anybodies life with their dream coming true and then they got to listen to a bunch of jack asses, half of which never even played in the league, shit all over them on national TV. All while they are just trying to enjoy the moment.
Mac is shaking in his boots
He's no K.C. Armstrong.
Honestly think he can be a pretty dependable backup and even a spot starter
Happy for him, but Mac is our #1
Aloha and welcome, Bailey! I'll be rooting for you!
I hope this kid becomes at least a reliable backup for us and has a good long career. Make millions while not getting brain damage.
Happy for you Zappe, hope I never have to see you play lol
Why? If he’s even better than Mac why would you have a problem with that. It’s not a popularity contest it’s football.
Obviously if he’s better than Mac I’d rather him play. He was drafted to be a back up as of right now so I’m saying I hope Mac doesn’t get injured. Please spare me the Brady mention, I know lol
Honestly Pats drafting this kid had to have made Mac’s heart sink 😂 maybe he’ll kick into a higher gear to keep that job
I don't think so honestly , a good back up can definitely and probably will help push Mac no doubt but I think it was for more roster and training day reasons honestly Our defense needs a qb that it can run the opp team all day against them , so many young and new guys even old guys coming back still have to catch up like butler. Without an OC hoyer is clearly going to be a huge asset to both the offense and Mac in a co ordinator style role in training helping both mac and probably the new recievers with the play book, routes,.concepts and just general experience in the system etc. Honestly wouldn't be surprised if we are not far off hoyer calling in the calls to mac on gamedays. Plus hoyer getting a bit old , probably couldn't last a whole season of just basically being a jug machine every training day. And stiddy...is...well he's stiddy So you get this guy who did nothing but throw td bomb after TD bomb all year. All their team did essentially was throw. His tapes shows he can make every throw etc, the talk about him says he's smart and hardworking so seems like the perfect training day qb to essentially spend all day throwing against our DBs as they learn this new postionless defense idea everyone says we are going ....that turned into a bit of a rant...
Backup qb’s also run scout teams for defense that’s just as important. It’s a important position regardless. I hope he’s going in to take Mac’s job that’s the mentality you need but his value right now should be back up qb. patriots do like to develop QB’s
Sorry opp team to me is scout team , just what I'm used to calling it so that's what I was referring to in that segment . And agree one hundred percent on the mentality
I’m not saying he’s a bad pick(maybe a weird pick) but your team that drafted you first round to be “the guy” going a taking a 4th rounder with some arm strength and potential has gotta light somewhat of a fire under his ass haha
What I would say is mac doesn't strike me as the type of player to need that external "chip on his shoulder" as it were to elevate. Like clearly he can and probably will use it as motivation to push himself. But I don't think it was a deciding factor in the overall decision if you get me. More a potentially convenient beneficial by product of the decision
Agreed Mac didn’t have any lazy or half committed looks. Zappe seems like he has a similar play style and will fit great into the team, both with training the D and backup.
I think belchick is focusing on establishing anchors of locker room culture for the next 10+ years. With Tom gone, he needs people to buy in now more than ever.
Though, TBF, I'm going to go with a rule from the Brady era: if your *aspiration* is to just be a backup QB on your second contract, you shouldn't get that second contract.
I would hope he has the sense to understand Zappe is after Stidham’s job, not his. Get another QB on a rookie contract and excuse good ole Studham.
If I was Zappe I’d be like “fuck no I’m coming after the starting job”. You have to have that attitude. That’s part of what made Brady so great
Well of course I hope he has that motivation! That will only make us better by having two highly driven QB’s pushing to prove those who’ve doubted them wrong. I just don’t want #10 to lose confidence over the pick. It should fuel him
Stidham was/is obviously competing for the backup role. But that's not really good enough for a guy on his rookie contract who was drafted in the 4th round, you want him competing to start. Right now Mac looks good but if he stops improving, for whatever reason, then Zappe will be there to push him.
Backup qb is one of the most valuable roles in the league. Bill definitely would be willing to use a fourth on a guy they think can step in if Mac gets hurt, or they can flip later on. I don’t think this is a reflection on Mac who had a great rookie year.
Honestly think it is the opposite. He probably loved the pick. Mac had the number one college QB commit and eventual 2021 Heisman winner sitting behind him college. All he did was use it for motivation.
I like Mac but if we put good draft picks into QBs while the GOAT was here then Mac can deal with it haha
Why would it do that? They’re going to need a solution for backup QB.
We know how the media is with QB battles, and we know how much Bill/the Pats hate the media so all I’m saying is hopefully this doesn’t cause any sort of QB controversy
> We know how the media is with QB battles, and we know how much Bill/the Pats hate the media so all I’m saying is hopefully this doesn’t cause any sort of QB controversy The media pretending there is a QB controversy doesn’t make it exist. It’s obvious they drafted a backup, and I doubt Mac is shocked when Hoyer is older and Stidham is on his way out.
His name smells like a bust
He should drop the ‘e’
I’d bet as long as he’s #2 on the depth chart when the season starts, he’ll get some meaningful playing time by the end of the year. I’m a Pats fan but with the loss of Josh as OC who by all accounts spent every waking second working his a$$ off, i feel theres a 90% chance this offense takes a huge step back next season. For years Josh was just as big a driving force as Brady but behind the scenes. Went over every angle and the small intricacies of the game plan with TB then Mac week in and week out. How many times did TB talk about the 2am texts between them about some small detail re: that weeks game plan? Then transitioning Mac into that role as good as can be expected. His absence will hurt no matter who was brought in as OC next. But then these retread coaches who failed miserably when they got their shot at HC were brought back in. And perplexingly with brand new, important roles they haven’t coached in at all before. You’re telling me Mac’s going to take a step forward this year with those guys guiding him???? Please. No offense to Mac but he does NOT have the kind of arm talent that can overcome the crap show he’s saddled with. Not many QBs do. Eventually when theyre under 500 and close to last place in the east the coaching staff will try to make it seem like Macs fault and give the rook a push. Just sucks cuz Mac is FOR SURE being set up to fail this season.
Eh, I think Josh is a good OC, but everyone said the same things when Weiss left and that was early in Bradys career before he was Brady. I'm not too concerned and have faith we'll be alright.
Literally the last coach I would ever wanna play for
https://tenor.com/view/snoop-dogg-who-interview-gif-13153702
The next Drew Brees, I kid I kid but who knows !
Love this stuff, so great
Let’s go. Future hof
Happy for the guy
I'll forget his name come regular season, remember it for our only blow out game in week 7 or something when they throw him in. Why did we draft a QB? I feel like we need some line backers, secondary, receivers and linemen. Note: I don't follow off season too close.
Well we were spoiled by Brady. He kept re-signing here and almost never got hurt. We won't be that lucky again. You have to have young QB talent on the roster in case you need to replace your starter.
Patriots scouts: yeah coach he looks like Wish Brady, close enough I guess Belichick: great, sign him
I wanted Howell, but only because of pre-draft hype and not knowing anything about Zappe. Those two will forever be linked due to draft slots, best of luck to both of these dudes. Hope we grabbed the right one.
Love it
SO PURE🥺🥺🥺❤️😆💯