Silly season continues with Patriots drafting J.J. McCarthy at No. 3 in new mock draft

BOSTON -- Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick. Tock.

There. We are now three seconds closer to the actual NFL Draft, which means we are that much closer to the end of Mock Draft Season™. Frankly, it can't come soon enough.

With so many mock drafts already being published, we've reached the point in the offseason where new mock drafts need to be wildly different from everybody else's mock drafts in order to get proper attention. That's no fault of the mock drafters themselves; it's just a reality of the business.

And Sportskeeda's Tony Pauline managed to generate some hefty buzz this week with his latest mock draft, in which he has the Patriots taking Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the No. 3 overall pick.

"I'm not big on McCarthy being a top-10 selection, but the UM signal caller to New England was the buzz on the pro-day circuit," Pauline wrote. "De facto general manager Eliot Wolf is pushing hard for McCarthy, and he believes he has as much upside as any quarterback in this draft."

The mock draft had Caleb Williams going No. 1 to the Bears, Jayden Daniels going No. 2 to the Commanders, McCarthy to the Patriots, and Drake Maye to the Vikings at No. 4 after a trade with Arizona.

Will this happen? Will the Patriots take McCarthy with the No. 3 overall pick? Well, it's certainly possible. But it doesn't seem likely, even if that was the "buzz on the pro-day circuit."

It's not that it's impossible to envision the Patriots liking McCarthy, who by many accounts has been climbing up draft boards ever since he led Michigan to a national championship (in a game where he went 10-for-18 for 140 yards). And hey, the organization may have a soft spot for a Michigan quarterback who lacks high-end physical tools but brings a certain level of competitiveness and craftiness to his game.

It's just difficult to see the Patriots utilizing the value of the No. 3 overall pick on McCarthy, who could be available later in the first round if the Patriots sought to trade down. And it would be fairly surprising to see the Patriots pass on Maye (or Daniels) altogether if given the option.

But, hey, it's silly season, and there's no way to really know anything. We do know that each passing minute eliminates another 60 seconds of speculation and forecasting, as we all await the real answers that await on April 25.