The Patriots turned the page at quarterback from Tom Brady in 2020, ulltimately going with Cam Newton late in free agencyas thebest fit for this season, instead ofrookie draft pick or second-year option Jarrett Stidham.But what if they had already landed Lamar Jackson as their worthy Brady succe sor in the ? Their near future and the entire landscape of the AFC would be a lot different.MORE NFL DRAFT:With the No. 31 overall pick two years ago, the Patriotswent with running back Sony Michel out of Georgia. One selection later, at No. 32, the Ravens traded upinto the last pickof thefirst round to take Jackson out of Louisville.Since then, New England has won another Super Bowl and two more AFC East titles. Baltimore, by replacing Joe Flacco with Jackson halfway through the latter's rookie season, has won two AFC North titles. Jackson ran away with NFL MVP in his second season as a starter, leading the Ravens to the conference's top seed at 14-2. The teams met the same fate after the 2019 season losing to the upstart Titans at home in the playoffs.How would have things changed for the past two seasons and going forwardhad Jackson become a Patriot, instead? Let's look at the "what if" ripple effects.Lamar Jackson would not have started a game in the NFL until 2020The Patriots used a second-round pick on Jimmy J.T. Gray Jersey Garoppolo behind Bradyin 2014. He gotlimited live action until Malcolm Roach Jersey he needed to start the first two games of 2016 with Brady serving the Deflategate suspension. They used a third-round pick on Jacoby Bri sett, who played as a rookie in 2016 only because Garoppolo got hurt while Brady wasn't available.Jackson may have seen some mop-up duty inblowouts had he been in New England since 2018, but to give him a chance to absorbthe offense behind Brady and getfully developed in Josh McDaniels' complex system, the Patriots would have waited to unleash Jacksonas a dynamicdual threat in 2020. Jackson still is only 23, a little younger than Stidham.With Jackson as a late first-rounder in 2018, Stidham wouldn't have been drafted by New Englandin 2019. The Patriots also drafted a QB late in 2018, Danny Etling, who flashed as an explosive runner in his rookie preseason but failed to make a succe sful transition to wide receiver before getting cut in the middle of last year's training camp.MORE: The referenced media source is mi sing and needs to be re-embedded.The buzz on Jackson would be just beginning,as the Patriots no doubt would have catered to his skill setthe way the Ravens have. The Patriotsalso are known for being adaptable with their system. Belichick would have loved the challenge of winning with a completely different style of QB for the modern game, something he could embrace with Jalen Hurts two years later in the 2020 NFL Draft. Choosing Newton now was a hint they could have made it work with Jackson then.Many teams would not be willing or able to make the best use of Jackson's rare talent. File New England right with Baltimore with capacity of turning into him into a top-flight, all-around QB.Last season, Jackson was the NFL's first unanimous MVP since Brady in 2010. He also was the Ravens' first NFL MVP. Without Jacksonin action, it's a good bet either Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes would have been the first repeat winner since Peyton Manning in 2004, or Ru sell Wilson would have won his long overdue first MVP.The Brady-Mahomes rivalry was short-lived in the AFC. Jackson vs. Mahomes would still be the one towatch, only with the twist of keeping Patriots vs. Chiefs as the premiere conference matchup.2020 NFL DRAFT:The Patriots would have drafted a different running backin 2018.Instead of Jackson, New England surprised in a different direction by landing the committee back. Michel was the third running back off the board after Saquan Barkley (No. 2to the Giants) and Rashaad Penny (No. 27 to the Seahawks).Michel's college teammate, Nick Chubb, was a better backfield pick by the Browns four spots later at No. 35. Afterthe Patriots picked cornerback Duke Dawson at No. 56 overall, Derrius Guice Kevin White Jersey (Redskins) and Royce Freeman (Broncos) went within the next 15 picks.The Patriots did visit with Guice pre-draft, so he most likely wouldhave been the choice with Jackson being taken instead of Michel. Unfortunately for Guice, the still-promising back out of LSU, he tore his ACL while making his preseasondebut against the Patriots. Otherwise, a good selection for the Patriots would have been Justin Jackson (Chargers), a seventh-rounder they could have had instead of Etling at No. 219.Michel has been a good power back for New England when healthy. He isthe team's leading rusher since 2018 with a combined 1,843 yards rushing and 13 TDs. With Guice's injury i sues, he would have been a frustrating pick. The Ravenswould have flopped by draftinganother quarterbackin 2018.Said Ravens coach John Harbaugh a fewmonths before the 2018 NFL Draft: "Certain positions are going to be more important than others, but when you have a veteran quarterback at this stage, that is the time you are always looking for a young backup. If we draft a quarterback, if it turns out to be the thing we do, it is only going to make our team stronger."Harbaugh said that while making it clear he still believed Flacco could give the Deonte Harris Jersey Ravens another good season as "their guy." Jackson wasn't expected to be used more than as a running QB in certain offensive sets, but once Flacco suffered a hip injury in Week 9, Jacksonnever gavethe starting job back.Had the Patriots taken Jackson at No. 31, the Ravens would not have traded up from No. 52 with the Eagles to get him. With the QB well rather dry, with Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen and Jackson all long gone, Baltimore's best optionin the second round would have been Mason Rudolph, who would been have been a reachgiven he went to the rival Steelers at No. 76 in third round. The Ravens also would have considered Kyle Lauletta, who went to nearby Richmond and whom the Giants took at No. 108 in the fourth round.Rudolph proved to be overwhelmed as a fill-in starter for an injured Ben Roethlisberger in 2019, while Lauletta had off-field trouble as a rookie and was an easy cut in 2019 after Daniel Jones was drafted as Eli Manning's true succe sor. Whether the Ravens would have hadto play out the string with Flacco or turn to a middling young option, their offensive results would be drastically different to the point of not being a playoff team for the past two years.MORE NFL DRAFT:Or, the Ravens would have waited and drafted Flacco's real replacement in 2019.With Jackson established as the starter, the Ravens' 2019offseason was all about tailoringtheir offense to what he could do as a pa ser Daniel Sorensen Jersey and runner. They used their first-round pick, No. 25 overall, on wide receiver Marquise Brown.With no