Patriots trade 5th-round pick to Texans for two later picks

A strange trade, with the draft drawing near.

Just three days ahead of the 2022 NFL draft, the New England Patriots are trading one of their fifth-round picks to the Houston Texans in exchange for a sixth- and seventh-round selections, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

New England owns two fifth-round picks (158th overall (via the Dolphins) and 170th overall (via the Buccaneers)). It has yet to be reported which selection they’ll send to Houston.

Bill Belichick love trading around the board in the NFL draft, though this sort of deal is unusual. It’s rare that teams make pick swaps in the days leading up to the draft. They typically see how the draft board materializes. New England must feel like it has a good handle of how many rookies it wants to add — while also getting a selection in the seventh round, where they previously did not have any picks.

At this point, the Patriots have a fist rounder, second-rounder, third-rounder, fourth-rounder, fifth-rounder, sixth-rounder, sixth-rounder, sixth-rounder and seventh-rounder.

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