New England Patriots' Trade of Logan Mankins Paying Dividends Early

The New England Patriots surprised the entire NFL when they sent Logan Mankins to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for Tim Wright and a fourth-round draft pick.

"Skeptical" was the watchword when news of the trade broke. Mankins, who was named to four straight All-Pro teams and made five straight Pro Bowls, set the physical tone on the offensive line. Skepticism turned to pessimism as the Patriots stumbled to a 2-2 start. Erik Frenz of Bleacher Report summed up the sentiments of the time well:

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Some folks—including yours truly—tried to justify the Patriots' trade of left guard Logan Mankins. Not anymore.

Mankins has been injured over the past couple of seasons, playing through a torn ACL in 2011 and missing six more games in 2012. His time in Tampa Bay has been short, and also injury-riddled, but the Patriots' mess on the inside of the line has been well documented. 

To say tight end Tim Wright has been a non-factor since joining the Patriots may be giving him too much credit. Headed into the game, Wright had four receptions on five targets for 35 yards. Those are still his numbers following Monday night.

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What a difference a seven-game winning streak makes. Sitting at 9-2, Bill Belichick may even be able to crack a smile. The dividends from the Mankins trade are already paying off.

After totaling four catches for 35 yards in the first four contests, Wright has now amassed 23 catches for 220 yards and six touchdowns despite only being on the field for 211 snaps. Instead of Tom Brady seeing a hole at left guard, he now sees a consistent target in the red zone.

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Brady is 23-of-26 when targeting Wright, who ranks No. 1 in drop rate and slot performance by a tight end. After Week 12's win over the Detroit Lions, Brady gushed to the press when asked about Wright's propensity for getting open in the end zone:

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We ask ourselves the same thing. Every time we throw to him it's a touchdown. We'll try to find him more down there. He does a great job in the coverage and finds the open spots, makes the plays, so it was a big day for that. 

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While immediate dividends certainly matter in the NFL, Belichick never mortgages the future for potential gains in the present.

Mankins' absence may have set back the development of the Patriots offensive line a couple of weeks for this season, but the extra depth and talent developed will be invaluable in the coming years. Bryan Stork, Jordan Devey, Marcus Cannon and Cameron Fleming have all received way more snaps than they would have had Belichick not made the trade.

Ira Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune didn't think that Belichick would be happy with the deal.

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Until he finds the next Logan Mankins, Bill Belichick will regret the deal that sent his best guard to Tampa on the eve of the season opener

— Ira Kaufman (@IKaufmanTBO) September 30, 2014"

After Stork healed enough to step in at center, Belichick found his new Mankins on his current roster in Dan Connolly. Although he hasn't been perfect in pass protection, Connolly has yet to give up a sack this year. Mankins gave up 10 last year.

The Patriots aren't just making out well on the field, however. Mankins would have cost New England $10.75 million in 2015, but the team cut that number down to $4 million by trading him, according to Spotrac. That extra money can be used to try to re-sign the likes of Devin McCourty and Darrelle Revis—whose $25 million cap figure in 2015 isn't palatable.

If production and salary-cap space aren't enough, the fourth-round pick that they received improves with each Tampa Bay loss. With the Buccaneers at 2-9 and having a tough remaining strength of schedule, it is conceivable that the Patriots could hold the No. 1 pick on Day 3 of the 2015 NFL draft. Currently they would have the third pick, behind the 1-10 Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Look for Belichick to continue finding value from the Mankins trade far into the future.

Statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus unless otherwise noted.