Did the Bills block the Patriots from getting a receiver in the first round?
The New England Patriots reportedly tried to trade back up into the first round late, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. They were in talks about acquiring the final selection of Round 1, which belonged to the Buffalo Bills, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
The deal never came to fruition, and Buffalo ended up trading their pick to the Carolina Panthers instead of going through with a trade with their AFC East rivals, who had just drafted quarterback Drake Maye earlier in the round.
The Patriots were trying to move up into the back half of the first round throughout the draft. They ended up staying put at No. 34 overall, however, and selecting Washington wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk. The thought is the Patriots might have been targeting South Carolina wideout Xavier Legette or Florida State’s Keon Coleman.
Reiss elaborated a bit more in his notes column:
The Patriots had a trade offer on the table to the Bills late in the first round on Thursday night, according to a source. The Bills were at pick No. 32 (after a trade back with the Chiefs), but instead of dealing with their AFC East rival Patriots for No. 34, they chose Carolina’s offer to slide back one spot to No. 33.
Receivers Xavier Legette and Keon Coleman were selected at 32 and 33 before the Patriots traded back from 34, so one can deduce the Patriots had either Legette or Coleman as their target — or possibly both. My hunch is Legette.
New England ended up addressing their needs at the wide receiver position, as they selected Javon Baker out of UCF, in addition to Polk.
The selection of Baker represented a common theme for New England throughout the weekend, as they did a solid job of addressing their needs at all positions. Time will tell how all of the draft selections pan out, but Patriots fans should feel comfortable with this draft class.