W
hile some fans get excited for draft night, New England Patriots fans have learned to be cautiously optimistic about what happens in Round 1.
Bill Belichick is known for his love of trading back in the NFL Draft. The Patriots traded back in 2020, sending the 23rd overall pick to the Los Angeles Chargers. In 2017, New England traded the 32nd overall pick to the New Orleans Saints, and in 2013, the Pats traded the 29th overall pick to the Minnesota Vikings.
ALL the latest Patriots news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Patriots newsletter here!
There is also the fact that New England has struggled at picking out talent in the first round. While the Patriots managed to hit on Mac Jones last year, their last two picks (N’Keal Harry and Sony Michel), leave a lot to be desired.
But no matter who New England selects (if they even make a pick), Patriots fans will likely be in for a long night according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
For your planning purposes: Estimated time of the Patriots’ assigned pick at No. 21 is 10:50 p.m. ET.
Now, this can all change if New England decides to move up in the draft, but experts have reported that teams are more interested in moving back in the draft.
Who Are The Patriots Interested In?
New England has plenty of options that they could decide to take with the 21st overall pick. The team has needs on both sides of the ball and has shown interest in taking a top player at multiple positions.
On defense, linebacker and cornerback has been the biggest area of interest for the Patriots. New England has been linked with Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean along with cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. and Trent McDuffie.
On the offensive side of the ball, New England has been interested in adding some protection for Jones up front or also giving him another target to throw to. Zion Johnson has shown flexibility to play multiple positions on the line and will likely be available when the Patriots are finally on the clock.
It Will be Tough to Trade Back
While Bill Belichick might want to move back this year, it will be tough for him to do so on Thursday. ESPN’s Adam Schefter stated that more teams than usual are looking to move back in the draft.
Within the past week, as the draft has drawn closer, multiple teams in the top half of the draft have inquired with others to try to trade back in the first round, per sources. So far, the interest in moving back in Thursday’s draft has greatly exceeded the interest in moving up.
This is partly due to the depth that the 2022 draft class possesses. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer told NBC Boston that there isn’t a large talent gap from a player selected outside the top 10 to the beginning of the second round.
“I think it’s gonna be really hard to trade down this year,” Breer said. “Because I think after you get past pick 12 or 13, it flattens out, and the difference between 14 and 44 isn’t very big. No one’s gonna want to move up. Most of the movement you’re hearing now — because this isn’t a great draft, and really the meat of the draft class is in the second and third round — is teams looking to move down, not up.”
So Patriots fans better keep the coffee machine running or go grab an energy drink cause Thursday will be a long night for New England.
Comments
Patriots Fans in for Long Night According to ESPN Analyst