INDIANAPOLIS -- If the Patriots are going to trade Ryan Mallett, this is as good an offseason as any.

This year’s draft class is exceptionally shallow at quarterback, with West Virginia’s Geno Smith seemingly the only surefire first-round pick at this point. It’s a long way from last year, which featured Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. And when you consider just how much substandard quarterbacking there is out there at the moment, the time is right for New England to take the leap and try and find a trade partner who would be willing to cough up a second-round pick (or a combination of picks) in exchange for the former Arkansas quarterback.

Advocating a trade is by no means an indictment of Mallett or what he’s been able to accomplish in his time with the Patriots: The 24-year-old has done everything that has been asked of him in his two seasons in New England as a backup to Tom Brady. He has shown himself to be a model teammate and a quality scout team quarterback, and along the way, has managed to dispel any sort of character questions that dogged him during his infamous podium appearance at the combine two years ago.

In addition, he’s under contract the next two seasons at a reasonable rate -- he’d come much cheaper than Alex Smith and Matt Flynn, two other high-profile backups who will also be on the market this offseason. And the 6-foot-6, 238-pounder has same physical tools that caused some to tab him as a possible first rounder a few years ago, if not for the character issues.

(One other thing: the Bills are considering a quarterback change, while the Jets remain one of the most quarterback-starved teams in the league. And while Bill Belichick has dealt a backup quarterback within the division before, don’t expect him to do the same thing this time around.)

With that in mind -- and understanding that the Patriots would obviously go out and find another backup if they did make a move with Mallett -- here are four possible trade partners for New England's most valuable trade chip:

Chiefs: Timing is everything with Kansas City -- if Luck and Griffin were available this time around (even Ryan Tannehill), they’d be ticketed for the Chiefs, who have the first overall pick. Instead, Kansas City is forced to make a decision on Smith, or wait until the second or third round when they could pull the trigger on someone like USC quarterback Matt Barkley. Kansas City GM John Dorsey said that Chiefs plan to meet with between six and eight quarterbacks over the course of the combine, but had yet to interview any signal-callers as of Friday afternoon.

There’s also the possibility of them grabbing someone like tackle Luke Joeckel at No. 1 overall and looking for a new quarterback either in free agency or in trade, or former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles following Andy Reid to Kansas City. It’s important to remember that the Chiefs would likely be cautious when it comes to landing one of Brady’s backups -- after all, there’s still some ill will in Kansas City when it comes to the Matt Cassel Era. But the price for Mallett would likely be either the second pick of the second round (34th overall) or the first pick of the third round (63rd overall), both of which would represent an upgrade for New England, which took Mallett in the third round (74th overall) in 2011.

(One intriguing sidenote to the idea of Mallett going to Kansas City -- that would clear the way for a possible reunion between Cassel and the Patriots, who would return to become the Grover Cleveland of Brady backups.)

Cardinals: Arizona has a few quarterbacks already in-house -- including former Brady backup Brian Hoyer -- but little else. In exchange, the Patriots would likely request some combination of Arizona’s 38th (a second rounder) and/or the 69th (third round) overall selection. One thing to take into account is that new Arizona coach Bruce Arians is known as a quarterback-friendly coach particularly when it comes to young guys. He’s tutored Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck -- Mallett would be fortunate to get a chance to work with someone like Arians.

“We know we have talent on our roster, we know there is talent in the draft,” Arians said on Friday at the combine when asked about his quarterback situation. “As we grow as a team, we’ll determine what is best for the Arizona Cardinals at [quarterback]. We have some tough decisions to make because of roster bonuses and things before we can talk football.”

Browns: There’s something to be said for Mallett-to-the-Browns on several levels: One, Cleveland is now run by Mike Lombardi, a former Belichick consigliere who has made his feelings for Mallett well known. (He rated Mallett as the top quarterback in the 2011 draft.) Two, the new Browns’ braintrust had made it known they are not completely enamored with the idea of Brandon Weeden and/or Colt McCoy at quarterback. And three, Mallett would come considerably cheaper than Flynn and Smith, the two other notable free agent quarterbacks who will be available. The Browns have a pick in the third round (68th overall), and one each on the fourth and fifth, which would make them a good match with the Patriots.

“We have three guys here that provide competition and we’ll leave it open to whatever happens in terms of any other possible scenarios,’’ said Chudzinski when asked about the quarterback position. “We’re going to look at everything, every possibility to try to make the team better. I’m excited about Brandon.

“Some of those things are hard to say -- we need to get out on the practice field,” Chudzinski said when asked if there was another change coming at quarterback. “We need to get into the meetings, get into the installs and evaluate him. We’re going to put the best guy on the field that gives us the best chance to win.” 

Raiders: Another legitimate possibility. The Patriots have a long history of working with Oakland when it comes to trades, and if the Raiders are ready to move on from veteran quarterback Carson Palmer, who is due $13 million in 2013, they will be in the market for a quarterback at a reduced rate. (They also have Terrelle Pryor on the roster as Palmer’s backup.) For what it’s worth, Oakland’s traditional big-play attack should mesh nicely with Mallett’s big arm, and Oakland coach Dennis Allen said Friday afternoon at the combine that the Raiders “won’t go into camp with two quarterbacks.” The Raiders have a third-round pick (66th overall), as well as a combination of selections early in the fourth and sixth rounds that could be attractive to the Patriots.

“I said there will be competition at the quarterback position, as well as any other position on our football team -- I think that’s the way you build a solid football team when create competition at all positions, at all levels,” Allen said. “I’m looking forward to watching [Pryor]. I’m looking forward to watching Carson.”