New England has shown interest in several players recently.
The New England Patriots ended not moving back in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but they might just get more active on Day 2. The team of head coach Jerod Mayo and de facto general manager Eliot Wolf is surrounded by trade speculation ahead of the second round.
With the 34th and 68th overall selections in their possession, the Patriots have two draft picks to possibly invest. They have at least explored the possibility of doing just that.
Two players to keep an eye on are San Francisco 49ers wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel.
According to a report by Josina Anderson of CBS, the Patriots had “preliminary trade discussions” with the 49ers regarding Samuel before the draft. The two teams also discussed the possibility of Aiyuk switching teams, according to a different report by NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran.
Aiyuk and Samuel have both been prolific players for San Francisco in the past. In 2023, Aiyuk led the 49ers with 75 catches, 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns. Samuel, who is more of a jack of all trades rather than a traditional wide receiver, caught 60 balls for 892 yards and seven scores; he also carried the football 37 times for 225 yards and five more TDs.
Aiyuk, a first-round draft pick by the 49ers in 2020, is currently on the fifth-year contract option in his rookie deal. He is carrying a salary cap number of $14.12 million that would in its entirety transfer to a new team in case of a trade.
Samuel, a 2019 second-round draft choice, signed a three-year, $71.55 million extension in 2022 that is set to void after the 2025 season. The Patriots would pick up his salaries and a series of bonuses, resulting in cap hits of $21.98 million in 2024 and $17.55 million in 2025.
The 49ers might be motivated to part ways with one of their wide receivers — rumor has it that Samuel is more likely to get moved — after acquiring Florida’s Ricky Pearsall with the 31st overall selection in the first round of the draft.
While the San Francisco duo has been mentioned as possible trade candidates for the Patriots and others, another name to watch might be Tee Higgins. The Cincinnati Bengals pass catcher, who is currently on the $21.82 million franchise tag, requested a trade from the organization earlier this offseason.
In addition to those players, the Patriots also might be targeting some offensive tackle help. According to Dallas Cowboys first-round draft pick Tyler Guyton, the team had attempted to come up for him before he was selected 29th overall.
“We have seven more picks, and we’ll probably move around a little bit,” Eliot Wolf said on Thursday night. “Hopefully acquire some more picks. But we feel strongly about the board and we’ll kind of see how it goes here. There’s a lot of other players that are — a lot of good players that are going to come off the board before our next one. So, we’ll kind of see how it goes here.”
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