5 Creative Moves the New England Patriots Can Pull on Draft Day
Few head coaches or general managers get as creative as New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on draft weekend.
Whether it's trading picks now for more picks later, trading players for picks, picks for players, moving up, down, left, right, sideways or diagonal on the board, the Patriots are always searching for that all-important value. It's a good bet that Belichick, Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio and the rest of the Patriots personnel department will spend a lot of the weekend on the phone talking to other teams, trying to wheel and deal in any way they can.
Who knows what the Patriots will pull off this year—or if they'll even pull anything off at all. But here's a look at some of the possibilities. We understand that some of these are long shots and others are buzzer-beater attempts from full court, but in an effort to keep the number at a round five, you've got to think way, way outside the box.
Belichick always is.
Trade Jerod Mayo
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Quite frankly, this would be both creative and a huge surprise.
Not only is Jerod Mayo coming off a season-ending injury (torn patellar tendon), but he's also sporting a $10,287,500 cap hit for the 2015 season, according to Over The Cap. The trade could always be put through as pending a physical, which would give the other team an opportunity to get out of the trade if Mayo is not healthy.
It's more likely that the Patriots would approach Mayo about restructuring his contract to give them some cap relief rather than trying to trade him altogether. That being said, never rule out the wily Bill Belichick, who will always squeeze every last drop of value out of a player—even if it means trading him away.
If the Patriots were to put Mayo on the trade block, he probably would not garner more than a third- or fourth-round selection given the injury risk and high dollar figure attached to him.
Acquire Picks for 2016
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With the focus squarely on the 2015 NFL draft, don't be surprised to see Belichick put one eye toward 2016 as early as April 30.
The Patriots have traded picks to acquire future selections in the past. In 2010, they traded a third-round selection to the Carolina Panthers for a second-round selection the following year; that pick ended up being the 33rd overall selection. In 2011, they traded one of their two first-round picks to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a second-round pick that year and a first-round pick the following year.
Right now, the Patriots hold all seven of their original picks; according to Over The Cap, they could receive as many as three compensatory picks for the losses of cornerback Darrelle Revis, defensive tackle Vince Wilfork and running back Shane Vereen.
Ten picks may seem like more than enough for most people, but if Belichick doesn't think he will get good value in a particular spot, he may feel more comfortable taking a chance on getting better value in another spot a year from now.
Trade out of the First Round
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Yeah, this one's about as creative as a stick figure.
The Patriots have not been afraid to take a pass on the first round in the past, having traded out in 2009 and 2013. They've had mixed results in doing so; the 2009 draft has been regarded as an abject failure aside from Sebastian Vollmer and Julian Edelman, but the 2013 draft brought Jamie Collins, Logan Ryan and Duron Harmon among others.
The 32nd overall pick has added value nowadays thanks to the fifth-year option that is automatically a part of all rookie contracts. The ability for a team to keep its players for a fifth year at a reasonable salary is an enticing one, and that urge can be even greater if a team covets a particular prospect who's available at the end of the first round.
The Patriots have subscribed to the "see what sticks" method of the NFL draft, which calls for a team to acquire as many picks as possible to give themselves a better chance of finding a diamond in the rough. If the Patriots are not on board with drafting anyone that's available at No. 32, it would be wise for them to collect more picks and try to get better value elsewhere.
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Trade Up in the First Round
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Don't think they won't do it.
The Patriots have earned a reputation for searching for value in the draft rather than targeting a particular prospect and putting their resources into grabbing that player.
But if the Patriots are to trade up for someone they like in the first round of the 2015 draft, it wouldn't be the first time. In fact, they did it not once but twice in 2012 when they traded up from 27th to 21st for Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones and again from 31st to 25th so that they could grab linebacker Dont'a Hightower.
With the depth of this year's class, it would be surprising if the Patriots were to trade up, but if one particular player begins to fall down the board and is available much later than anticipated, the Patriots could be in the mix for another draft-day shocker.
Trade for Jets CB Dee Milliner
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The Patriots would be venturing into uncharted territory if they were to trade with the New York Jets for cornerback Dee Milliner. It's been a long time since they've been involved in a draft-day trade with a division rival—since 2002, to be exact, when the Patriots shipped quarterback Drew Bledsoe off to the Buffalo Bills.
Quite frankly, it would make perfect sense for the Patriots to trade for Milliner. His value is probably as low as it's ever going to be; he's coming off a torn Achilles tendon, which could keep him from being ready for Week 1. He struggled in his rookie season before a hot finish in 2013 led to renewed hope that he could become the shutdown cornerback the Jets hoped he'd be when they drafted him.
The Patriots, obviously, are in need of physical. man-cover cornerbacks after losing both Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner this offseason. On the flip side, the Jets have a logjam of cornerbacks, and it's unclear exactly how Milliner fits into that equation.
The price could be low, and the return on investment could be high. It's hard to imagine two stranger bedfellows, especially given the recent back-and-forth of tampering charges between the two teams, but if the Patriots like the value, never rule anything out.
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