2011 NFL Draft: 5 Possible New England Patriots Draft Day Trade Scenarios

The New England Patriots love to move around the board like a fat kid loves cake, and that should be no different during the 2011 NFL draft.

With six picks in the first three rounds, the Patriots have a lot of opportunities to add some very talented players. They also have a lot of opportunities to add some very valuable picks both this year and even next year. History says they'll do just that.

So while we wait for the draft to come, and while we wait even longer for the collective bargaining agreement to finally get done, why not explore some of the options?

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Trade 17th Pick to the Baltimore Ravens for the 26th and 58th Picks

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OWINGS MILLS, MD - JUNE 12: Ozzie Newsome, Baltimore Ravens general manager during Jonathan Ogden retirement press conference at Ravens training facility on June 12, 2008 in Owings Mills, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

The Patriots would be getting the better end of this deal for sure, but the Ravens sorely need a defensive end. There are several talented five-technique ends projected right around that 17th spot in the first round. If one of those prospects falls here, it would make sense for them to trade up.

As is Bill Belichick's wont, the Patriots trading down makes all the sense in the world. Not only does he get an extra pick in that void between 33 and 60, but he also keeps a first-round choice (which could lead to another trade).

Trade 28th Pick to San Diego Chargers for 50th and 61st Picks

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SAN DIEGO - MAY 03: General Manager A.J. Smith of the San Diego Chargers watches minicamp practice at the Chargers training facility on May 3, 2009 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevin Terrell/Getty Images)

The Chargers love trading up the board to go after players they target. The Patriots love trading down the board to acquire value for their picks while still landing a player they like. This one seems almost inevitable.

The trade value chart has the Patriots at a 32-point advantage in this transaction, which will certainly ring true to Belichick. More importantly, with another pick just five selections later, the Patriots are likely to still land a player they have targeted around that spot.

This one's pretty straight and simple, folks. It works well for both sides.

Trade 28th Pick and 74th Pick to New York Giants for 19th Pick

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - JUNE 10: New York Giants Senior Vice President and General Manager Jerry Reese addresses the media at a press conference where Michael Strahan announced his retirement from the New York Giants on June 10, 2008 at Giants Stadium in E

This draft is loaded with defensive ends that are projected to go right around where the Giants will pick. Obviously, they don't really need one. They are also targeting offensive linemen, and though there should be some available here, there will be others available at the end of the first round.

Thus, it might suit them to trade down.

If the Patriots have two prospects that fall down their board and would like to have both almost back-to-back with picks 17 and 19, that is an option they may explore.

Trade the 33rd Pick for a First-Round Pick in 2012

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NEW YORK - APRIL 22: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell looks on as he stands on stage during the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on April 22, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

This seems like one of the more likely trade scenarios. I've long felt that this pick will be traded, and knowing how shrewd Belichick is, it wouldn't surprise me if he parlayed it into a first-round pick next year.

That's just the type of move Belichick loves to make. Why use the pick if there's no one on the board that the Patriots like at No. 33? They could just as soon trade it for a first-round pick next year, adding value and getting a high pick for next year in the process.

Being that this pick started out as the 89th pick in the 2010 NFL draft, moving all the way up to the first round with that pick in a two-year span would be just about as valuable as that pick could be. Any number of teams could take interest in this, and it wouldn't surprise me to see the Patriots pull the trigger if the right team called.

Trade 17th Pick and 60th Pick to Houston Texans for 11th Pick

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NEW ORLEANS, LA - MARCH 22: Houston Texans head coach Gary answers questions from the media during the NFL Annual Meetings at the Roosevelt Hotel on March 22, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Despite a NFL owners imposed lockout in effect since March 12

The Patriots have traded down, out of the first round, even into the next year, almost obsessively since Belichick took over. Only once have the Patriots traded up in the first round, when Ty Warren was the choice back in 2003. Granted, it was only one spot, but the fact that it happened has many Patriots fans thinking they could do it again.

With the amount of ammunition the Patriots have in this year's draft, I'd never exclude the possibility. I'd just count it as highly unlikely.

Still, this scenario could play out. The Texans are in the market for 3-4 personnel at outside linebacker, but there are several players that they could get for their new scheme in the middle of the first round. If neither Von Miller nor Robert Quinn is available, this scenario would make sense for Houston.

Winning

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New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick holds The Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXIX at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on February 6, 2005. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Charlie Sheen may be giving "winning" speeches across the nation (and gave one in Boston, MA last night), but Bill Belichick is and always will be the master of winning the draft.

No matter what moves he makes, don't get caught up in who the Patriots pick. Instead, understand that what Belichick does on draft day is what allows the Patriots to continue to be a winning franchise year after year.

Trust the system, because in Belichick we trust.