ESPN’s Mel Kiper projected the New England Patriots to land their quarterback of the future by selecting Duke’s Daniel Jones in his second mock draft of the year. He would be the heir to Tom Brady in New England.

Here’s what Kiper wrote about the selection in his latest projection:

I continue to believe Bill Belichick and the Patriots will use some of their draft capital on a quarterback. It could be here, or it could be with one of their two second-round picks. There could be several QBs go in the first three rounds. Jones is an athletic 6-foot-4 signal-caller who can be an erratic thrower at times but is already advanced in his footwork. He’d benefit from sitting and learning behind Tom Brady. The Super Bowl champs have several prominent free agents who could leave, so we’ll know much more in a month about which positions they could target.

If there’s anything we’ve learned about the Patriots, it’s that they try not to let a need dictate what position they will draft. They attempt to take the best player on the board, or they will trade back to draft a player of similar value. So Kiper’s suggestion that free agency may dictate who New England drafts isn’t exactly accurate. But if they’re always taking the best player on the board and quarterback tends to be a position that gets overdrafted, the Patriots may have to trade up in the draft to get one. With four picks in the first three rounds and more third-round compensatory picks coming, New England will have a great deal of draft capital to move around the board.

Jones would be a developmental prospect, but with his accuracy issues, the Patriots would have to decide if he’s the right developmental prospect. Jones fits the profile of Jacoby Brissett: big frame, strong arm, less accurate and some athleticism. But the Patriots took a shot on Brissett in the third round. Jones is a likely first-rounder.

It’s fair to imagine the Patriots drafting a quarterback in the early rounds of the 2019 NFL Draft. Perhaps Jones will prove himself worthy during the interview process at the NFL combine.