Belichick: Patriots passing on QBs 'wasn't by design'

The New England Patriots exited the 2020 NFL Draft without an immediate solution at quarterback.

Prospects Jordan Love, Jalen Hurts, Jacob Eason, and Jake Fromm were on the board at various points, but New England opted against selecting any of them. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick insisted Saturday that the right QBs just didn't align with where they picked.

"Didn't work out the last three days. That wasn't by design. We just tried to do the best we could with what we had this weekend," Belichick said, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss.

New England now plans to sign J'Mar Smith out of Louisiana Tech as an undrafted free agent, Reiss reports.

Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio said ahead of Day 3 of the draft that the club intended to add a third quarterback to a depth chart that also includes 2019 pick Jarrett Stidham and veteran Brian Hoyer.

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