The New England Patriots traded out of the first round for the third time in the Bill Belichick era, sending the 23rd overall pick to the Los Angeles Chargers in exchange for the 37th overall and 71st overall picks.
The second night of the draft starts on Friday night, and New England can do just about anything. With aging veterans and holes up and down the roster, the Patriots’ needs are pretty apparent.
With their five picks tonight, the Patriots can go after a tight end to finally replace the production of Rob Gronkowski that was missing last year, a linebacker to fill in for Jamie Collins’ role after his departure to Detroit, or a safety to groom under Devin McCourty and Pat Chung before they eventually retire.
While the options are endless for New England, there are a few things that they can do that would be pretty surprising on the second day of the 2020 draft.
1. Trade out of the second round
According to Adam Schefter during the first-round broadcast, the Patriots believe they are going to be able to draft the same target at No. 37 that they would’ve at No. 23. So, even if they have a couple guys in mind, they are going to be in prime position to get them.
New England could still move back in the second round if their target continues to fall. That way they can stockpile assets to build their team as competitive as possible for the 2020 season. However, it would be extremely surprising to see the team move out of the second round completely with all of the players at their positions of need that are available.