The hype surrounding Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo died down a bit after the draft and free agency, but as we approach the start of training camp, it is starting to swirl again. 

Garoppolo was famously not traded by the Pats this offseason, who demanded an exorbitant price for the former second-round pick on the final year of his rookie contract. The argument for dealing him is the Patriots can't afford Garoppolo, but the argument against trading him is the Patriots are not quite comfortable with Jacoby Brissett running the offense and want insurance if anything happens to Tom Brady, injury or otherwise.

New England looks more loaded than last season, when it won the Super Bowl and still has two quality quarterbacks under contract. They very well might have two top-25 passers: some people believe Garoppolo would be capable of taking even a bad team to the playoffs.

Speaking to Mike Giardi of CSN New England, one former Patriots player said Garoppolo would make the Browns a "borderline playoff team."

"I played against him every day in practice. He's all that," the anonymous player told Giardi. "He can make all the throws. He can process all the information. He is a gamer. He can slow it down. He can spin it. I'm going tell you this, if he had gotten traded to Cleveland, they're a borderline playoff team. I really believe that."

The Browns are a really young team, one that probably has a ceiling of about six wins. They have an impressive offensive line they spent the offseason upgrading through free agency, there are some skill position guys (David Njoku, Isaiah Crowell, Corey Coleman, Duke Johnson) with lots of upside and the defense added a lot of young parts (Myles Garrett, Jabrill Peppers, Larry Ogunjobi, Jamie Collins) over the last nine months. But it's tough to imagine Garoppolo instantly making this team a playoff contender, although maybe he's enough of an upgrade over Brock Osweiler/Cody Kessler/DeShone Kizer that ... hmm. Well, maybe he could make the playoffs with the Browns. 

It's not like the Patriots are the only team that loves Garoppolo. Another AFC scout told Giardi that he "absolutely loved" Jimmy G when he was coming out of Eastern Illinois and "begged" his team to take him at the back end of the first round. 

"I absolutely loved the kid coming out of college. When we interviewed him, [it was obvious] he's got those qualities you want in a QB, as a leader. I begged our guys to take him at the end of the first round. That's how good I thought he was then. He's a hell of a lot better now."

Obviously the coaching from Belichick and Josh McDaniels has helped make him more valuable in the last several years, which is why there is a very viable case for the Patriots demanding multiple first-round picks. He was worth a second-rounder coming into the league and, simply based on what he's shown on the field during a handful of regular season games, is worth a first-rounder now at bare minimum. 

Factoring in what the Pats had to invest in his training/coaching/time, he is a pretty valuable commodity. Too bad the Pats can't rent Garoppolo out to the Browns for a year -- if he turned Cleveland into a playoff team in 2017 they could demand a decade's worth of drafts from some team in a trade next offseason.