Tag: patriots trade

5 game-changing receivers Patriots could trade for this season

Should the Patriots look to add a No. 1 receiver at some point before the trade deadline?

The New England Patriots look like they’re playing in quicksand.

They haven’t been able to run the ball effectively behind a patchwork offensive line, and the passing attack still lacks explosiveness on the outside. Make no mistake, the offense is significantly better with Bill O’Brien calling the plays, but it was never a situation where one man was going to solve all of the team’s problems.

There’s little doubt that the running game will pick up at some point. Rhamondre Stevenson is an incredibly talented running back, and Ezekiel Elliott is a former two-time NFL rushing yards leader. It’s only a matter of time before that thunder and lightning combo creates a thunderstorm in the offensive backfield.

But the same can’t be said for the Patriots at receiver. When looking around the room, there’s simply not enough talent to keep pace in the AFC East, much less the rest of the league.

Of course, that could all change at the snap of a finger if the Patriots pull off a trade for the right player. Coach Bill Belichick typically isn’t known for pushing all of the chips on the table for a receiver, but desperate times could call for desperate measures down the stretch.

Here are five game-changing receivers the Patriots could trade for this season:

Should Patriots trade for former first-round pick to fix OT struggles?

Could the Patriots swing a trade for a disgruntled offensive tackle?

It is no secret that the New England Patriots have been having issues at right tackle, and it’s also no secret that there is a disgruntled tackle that could shake free.

That tackle is none other than Jonah Williams of the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals signed Orlando Brown Jr. in the offseason to play left tackle and added La’el Collins back in 2022 to play opposite of Williams before Brown was a Bengal.

Williams, who was getting chances to fill in for the injured Collins, was seemingly demoted to second-team last week.

Williams has the talent to be a capable starting tackle, and he would be an immediate upgrade over Riley Reiff and Conor McDermott at the position. The Patriots could take a swing at the former first-rounder, who was vocally upset at being cast aside in Cincinnati.

A project package for the 25-year-old could work with the Patriots sending a 2024 third-round draft pick, 2024 fifth-rounder and 2025 third-rounder in exchange for Williams and a 2024 sixth-round pick.

Williams has a cap hit of $12 million, but the Patriots could extend the pending free agent to get him under contract for the foreseeable future, while lowering his Year 1 cap hit.

Solid NFL tackles that are young do not come by so often. Even though Williams has had a down year, there is hope the Patriots could get him to turn into a reliable starting bookend tackle after working with newly-hired offensive line coach Adrian Klemm.

It may not be the sexiest of moves, but it wouldn’t be Bill Belichick’s first time trading for a disgruntled player on the low. I still expect the Patriots to target another tackle in the 2024 draft, but with Trent Brown in a contract year, Williams could be a nice replacement.

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2023 official NFL draft kit from Cam Garrity

All of your draft needs are here, from big-board rankings to breakdowns and grades for top prospects.

As the 2023 NFL Draft rolls in, it’s time for our official draft kit. I did this kit last year for our friends at Lions Wire wanted to bring it back for another year.

I typically start official draft preparation in the New Year and spend a few months diving into players on film and re-watching full games for situational awareness. I do watch college football games year-round. So I have a general sense of the players that popped. This is just a deeper dive that is started in January.

I like to spend all my focus on one player at a time before giving out my grade, essentially filling out my top 10 at each position then organizing the top-50 big board. This helps form the kit right in time for the draft so that any fans reading it can get a general sense of the player, their skills, where they went and how they fit.

I also take a look at the big boards across multiple different sources and different mediums to understand the general consensus of players eligible and where people rank them. This is usually done as quality control for my own work once my evaluations are completed.

The big board is just a starting point in a vacuum.

As the draft rolls on, positional value, team needs and fit all come into play. So sometimes, player No. 10 might go first overall, and that’s simply because players 1-9 do not make sense for them to grab. I would recommend filling for need and fit regardless of the big board, unless that player was a can’t miss, Hall of Fame-level talent right out of the gate.

Before we jump right into the kit, here’s a little background of the grading system I use:

3 potential Patriots trade packages for All-Pro WR DeAndre Hopkins

Here are three possible trade packages the Patriots could offer up for DeAndre Hopkins

The New England Patriots have spent much of the 2023 offseason filling glaring holes on offense and retaining key members of an above average defense.

Sure, the Patriots signing Juju Smith-Schuster, James Robinson, and Mike Gesicki helps form an upgraded pass-catching group from last year on paper, but the team has still failed to address the elephant in the room.

They desperately need a true wide receiver No. 1. The offense currently is much better as constructed, but it would likely still only be in the middle of the league with offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien and the new weapons.

The Patriots need someone that can dictate coverages, be the topic of opponents’ gameplans, and take the burden off the rest of the unit. Getting a true No. 1 receiver unlocks the rest of the offense and will get the most production out of each offensive skill position.

DeAndre Hopkins is that guy.

He’s an elite No. 1 wide receiver that Belichick adores, and fortunately for the Patriots, he’s actually available on the trade market. With Brandin Cooks being shipped off to the Dallas Cowboys and the high asking price for Denver Broncos receiver Jerry Jeudy, the Patriots could pivot to the better of the three in Hopkins.

Let’s take a look at some trade packages that could see the Patriots adding the elite playmaking receiver.

Patriots’ full 7-round 2023 mock draft 5.0

With the NFL Scouting Combine in the rearview, here’s a full seven-round draft for the Patriots.

With the NFL Scouting Combine in the rearview, it’s time to check back in with the our latest, seven-round mock draft.

The Patriots have utilized an approach to find more explosive athletes in the draft, as they added Cole Strange, Tyquan Thornton, and Pierre Strong Jr.,  who all scored over a 8.5 RAS (relative athletic score) in 2022. Marcus Jones, although explosive, did not have an RAS score as he did not participate during the combine.

In this mock draft, like the others, we will be focusing on what the Patriots will likely do, rather than what I would do.

Without further hesitation, let’s get into the Patriots’ latest 2023 mock draft haul.