The New England Patriots traded to acquire DeVante Parker from the Miami Dolphins on Saturday, and they still have the No. 21 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
New England now has the assets to dramatically improve its wide receiver position. That appears to be a portion of the advice USA Today’s Henry McKenna is giving the team in a recent tweet.
McKenna is urging the Patriots to not only use their No. 21 pick on a top prospect like Alabama’s Jameson Williams or Ohio State’s Chris Olave, he also believes the team should seek to trade Nelson Agholor.
To be more specific, McKenna suggests the Patriots “give away” Agholor “for free in a ‘trade,’ if possible.
I might offend @_AndrewCallahan and @PP_Rich_Hill with this idea. But after the DeVante Parker trade, I think it’s a good idea to…
1) Draft Jameson Williams or Chris Olave in Round 1, if available
2) Give away Nelson Agholor for free in a “trade,” if possible. (May not be)
Why Many Are Asking For More From Agholor
Agholor was a massive disappointment in 2021. After establishing himself as one of the NFL’s top deep threats in 2020 with the Las Vegas Raiders, per NextGenStats, Agholor didn’t even show flashes of making that kind of impact with New England.
Agholor had 48 receptions for 896 yards and 8 TDs in his last year with the Raiders. That production helped Agholor secure a 2-year, $22 million deal with the Patriots.
Unfortunately, Agholor wasn’t nearly as productive in New England. In 2021, the 28-year-old, who turns 29 in May, had just 37 receptions for 473 yards and 3 TDs. The lack of impact from Agholor and Jonnu Smith, another high-priced free-agent acquisition from the 2021 offseason, prompted Patriots owner Robert Kraft to ask for more from his underperforming acquisitions.
“Time will tell,” Kraft told Jeff Howe of The Athletic. “Part of it, in fairness, is the chemistry of the people around him [Mac Jones]. I hope that some of the free agents who we brought in who didn’t perform as high as we would have liked last year will (produce) this year because they’ve adjusted to the system. And we’re making changes to take advantage of what they do best. We have a lot of talent that hasn’t been tapped into yet in my opinion.”
Trying to get more out of Agholor might not be the worst possible approach for the Patriots. After all, he is still under contract for another year. Based on what he did in 2021, it seems unlikely another NFL team would be willing to foot the bill for a player coming off a down year.
New England can send out feelers–which they may have done–but the reality is they’re likely stuck with Agholor for another season.
The other piece of McKenna’s pitch is tantalizing.
Snagging Olave or Williams Would Give the Patriots a Promising WR Group
The Patriots will likely be waving goodbye to N’Keal Harry soon, but as it stands, the group looks a lot better than it did prior to the acquisition of Parker.
If New England takes McKenna’s advice and drafts Williams or Olave, suddenly Mac Jones is throwing the football to this group:
- DeVante Parker
- Williams/Olave
- Jakobi Meyers
- Kendrick Bourne
- Nelson Agholor
- Hunter Henry
- Jonnu Smith
- James White/Rhamondre Stevenson
That’s a more than respectable group of receivers and it is a vastly improved group from what New England has run on the field the last two seasons.
Williams and Olave are different kinds of receivers, but both could become the team’s top targets in a couple of years. Williams offers game-breaking speed while Olave has been lauded for his hands and route-running.
Jones’ new group of receivers would have size, speed and experience. There’s also a little depth here as well. We’ll see if Belichick and Co. hold on to that pick or trade back in a WR-heavy draft.
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Patriots Urged to Trade High-Priced Free Agent Away For ‘Free’