2011 NFL Draft: Patriots Shane Vereen, Saints Mark Ingram Will Forever Be Linked

The New England Patriots made a lot of savvy moves around the board during the 2011 NFL draft. Surprise!

One of their better moves was trading out of the 28th overall selection with the New Orleans Saints in exchange for their second-round pick in 2011 and their first-round pick in 2012.

It's no mystery that Mark Ingram ended up being the choice for the Saints at 28, and with the Saints' second-round selection, the Patriots picked up Cal running back Shane Vereen.

As unfair as it may be, the Patriots may be judged based on the success of Ingram.

The two backs are entirely different in their style of play. Vereen does most of his damage in the passing game, while Ingram is more of a between-the-tackles runner.

More importantly, the Patriots also acquired the Saints' 2012 first-round pick in exchange for Ingram. When taking into consideration the winner and loser of this trade, that pick must be taken into account.

We'll have a much better idea when that pick is used. That is, if it's used. The Patriots could continue to accrue value off of that trade by continuing to trade out of that spot and picking up more picks to trade or use along the way.

Ultimately, constantly trading allows the Patriots more chances to look good for one of their moves. As Mike Dussault of Pats Propaganda points out, the Patriots look like geniuses for the value accumulation that resulted in landing Randy Moss, Jerod Mayo, Shawn Crable and Ryan Mallett for the pick used to take Joe Staley.

Another interesting value chain to trace is the one that involves outside linebacker Clay Matthews. The Patriots have been criticized ad nauseam for that trade, but it enabled them to draft Darius Butler, Brandon Tate, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, as pointed out by Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe.

So all in all, it may be easy to look back in anger and say, "Why did the Patriots pass on that guy?" One must consider, though, the numerous opportunities that the Patriots create for themselves and the numerous ways in which they create that all-important value every time they pass on "that guy" for a slew of other picks and players.