New England may make several moves at the top of the first round.
Sitting at No. 3 overall, the New England Patriots have a potentially franchise-altering decision to make: keep the selection to presumably select one of the top quarterbacks available, or trade out to possibly bolster the capital both in 2023 and beyond.
Even if they do trade back, however, the Patriots might not be done manipulating the board to their liking. The team is a potential candidate to move back, before then using its new-found capital to move back up again to take a player — either a quarterback, or somebody able to fill other positions of need like left tackle or wide receiver.
Of course, that scenario will all depend on a series factors:
1.) The Patriots’ own draft board, especially in relation to the quarterback position.
2.) The offers coming in from other teams to acquire the third overall selection.
3.) The willingness to give up assets to trade back up again.
According to first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, who spoke with the media back at the NFL annual meeting last month, there is no guarantee when it comes to the third overall selection. Both a pick and a trade were still on the table at that point.
“We’re open to trading the pick, we’re open to taking a guy there,” said Mayo at the time.
“We sit at a very enviable spot at No. 3 where we could take someone at No. 3, or if someone offers a bag as we would say — a lot of first-round picks — we definitely have to talk about those things as we continue to put together this team. There are holes on this team, but I would also say there will be people available going forward to fill those holes.”
While the Patriots have continuously preached their collaborative efforts in Year 1 after long-time head coach and quasi-general manager Bill Belichick, the final call will reside with Eliot Wolf. As the team’s director of scouting, he serves in a GM-like role similar to the one held by Belichick, and will have final say on all things draft.
What he will ultimately do at No. 3 overall remains to be seen. Teams are, however, working the phones in order to possibly move into that spot.
“The calls are coming in. And while it’s going to take a lot for New England to move off this pick, they are going to listen,” ESPN insider Adam Schefter recently said. “The question will be whether somebody can offer enough to move the Patriots off their spot at 3 to go get the quarterback they want, whether that’s Drake Maye or J.J. McCarthy.”
With USC’s Caleb Williams and LSU’s Jayden Daniels currently projected to go first and second to the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders, respectively, the Patriots hold the keys to the other top quarterback prospects in this year’s class, Maye and McCarthy.
Two intriguing developmental options who would fit into the Patriots’ current structure, both could end up as the pick in Round 1. The question is how far New England could trade down before possibly moving back up to still end up with one of them.
One potential move might be to make a trade with the Minnesota Vikings, who currently own the 11th and 23rd overall picks.
“I think Minnesota would love to come up and entertain the idea of getting a guy like Drake Maye, who their quarterbacks coach, Josh McCown, coached in high school,” said Schefter. Can they make that happen? And can New England afford to slide far back enough where it’s jeopardizing getting a quarterback in this draft.
“Because one thing is certain: even if New England does trade back, they want a quarterback here. So, they have to figure out a way to get that one. Maybe it means jumping around like Arizona did last year, trading out of the early part of the draft — trading from 3 to [12] and back up to 6, get an offensive tackle. Maybe New England does the same thing here to get quarterback help.”
Back in 2023, the Arizona Cardinals and their general manager Monti Ossenfort, a former Patriots executive, traded their first- and fourth-round picks — No. 3 and No. 105 — to the Houston Texans in exchange for first- and second-round selections in 2023 (No. 12 and No. 33) as well as first- and third-round selections in 2024. They then moved back up by acquiring the sixth and 81st overall picks in Rounds 1 and 3 for their own first-, second-, and fifth-round selections in 2023 (No. 12, No. 34, No. 168).
While a similar move might mean the Patriots miss out on Maye, it still might allow them to move into position to pick McCarthy and add to their overall draft capital in what projects to be a multi-year rebuild. If the two possible quarterback targets are ranked similarly on New England’s board, such a series of trades would make sense.
So, who would their trade partners be. The Vikings are the most obvious given their own resources plus their need at quarterback. The Las Vegas Raiders, as suggested by Pats Pulpit’s own Pat Lane, also could be in the mix at No. 13 overall. The same might be true for the Chicago Bears at No. 9.
In fact, it appears every team in the single digits — Arizona, Los Angeles, New York, Tennessee, Atlanta, Chicago — might have incentive to move around the board either in a move up or a move down. The feasibility of such a transaction would, obviously, depend on the draft picks the involved clubs would be willing to part with.
For the Patriots, that will be key to any trade as well, especially if it means risking missing out on not one but two top-flight quarterback prospects.
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