Should Patriots Consider Trading Draft Picks for Top Receiver?
The New England Patriots have one of the most dangerous offenses in the NFL but they have one weak spot, wide receiver. The Patriots currently have seven receivers on their roster. The top two receivers, Wes Welker and Deion Branch, are both unrestricted free agents but are expected to return. Chad Ochocinco could very well be let go due to his lack of production in 2011. Britt Davis, Julian Edelman, Matthew Slater, and Tiquan Underwood are all fringe players with Edelman playing mainly defensive back and Slater as mainly a special teams player.
The Patriots will have six picks in the 2012 NFL Draft. Through trades with the New Orleans Saints and the Oakland Raiders, the Patriots will have two first round picks, two second round picks, a third round pick, and a fourth round pick. It’s not unusual that the Patriots use the draft to find players to retool but a number one deep threat could take their offense to a new level.
The Patriots have lacked a deep threat since the departure of Randy Moss. They were hoping that Chad Ochocinco could fill that void even though he’s not known as a deep threat but he had the worst year of his 11 year career. They could look to the draft to find that receiver but with their first pick being number 27 and with the team having more serious problems with the defensive back positions, it’s unlikely they would be able to draft a top college receiver in the draft.
The Patriots could look at free agents to fill the void but there are really only two top deep threat receivers that are scheduled be free agents in 2012, Reggie Wayne and Brandon Lloyd. There is a possibility that Reggie Wayne could test the free agent market if the Indianapolis Colts let Peyton Manning go and rebuild. However, Manning has made it clear he wants to stay in Indianapolis which could tempt the Colts to re-sign Wayne. Brandon Lloyd is another possibility but he is without a doubt the top receiver for the St. Louis Rams and has indicated that he would like to stay in St. Louis. If that’s true, the Rams would no doubt sign him to an extension.
That gives the Patriots one other possibility, trading draft picks. They can’t afford to lose anybody on defense as they have very little depth now. It’s highly unlikely they would consider trading anyone on offense either considering that they are still a Super Bowl contending team. However, they still do have four draft picks in the first two rounds which any team would love to have.
If the Patriots were to trade draft picks to bring in a top receiver, the place they would go is Green Bay. The Packers have four receivers that would help New England in Donald Driver, James Jones, Greg Jennings, and Jordy Nelson. Donald Driver is a free agent this offseason but it is unlikely that he would want to sign anywhere other than Green Bay. The Packers do have issues they must confront in their running game, offensive line, and defense. With these issues and their strength at receiver, in addition to having only one late pick in each round, it could be an ideal trade for both teams.
The question though is should the Patriots consider this? The Patriots have been very successful in the draft over the last 15 years. Most of the key players on their Super Bowl winning teams were acquired through the draft. In addition to that, it can be argued that the Patriots need those picks to fix their current defensive problems as they were one of the weakest defenses in 2011. Also, the Patriots have been successful offensively going to tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. If they can pick up a Reggie Wayne or Brandon Lloyd, it would solve this problem but if they can’t, the New England Patriots will have to answer this question.
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