New England Patriots: 5 Trade destinations for Dion Lewis or James White

Green Bay Packers

The Packers are relying on a converted wide receiver, Ty Montgomery, who broke out at the end of last season. They drafted three RBs this year to help solidify the position. Having a shifty, speedy back in Montgomery would probably make White again the more plausible bargaining chip, but don’t sell Lewis short. He has a 4.6 yards per carry for his career. Yes, that’s with limited touches, but he’s not afraid to run between the tackles as much as he might swing out wide.

New England Patriots

I targeted 3 linebackers as possible returns – Joe Thomas, Jake Ryan and Blake Martinez. After speaking with my Packers SuperFan from the Next Fan Up podcast, he’d be alright with trading Thomas. Thomas has 96 career tackles, 1 interception and 1 sack in two seasons. He plays the inside and might not be the prototypical linebacker the Patriots usually covet. He does match favorably with Patriots linebacker, Elandon Roberts. The Packers might need to include a late conditional draft pick to make the value for value trade work, but that’s just typical NFL business.

Houston Texans

The Texans have Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue as their top two RBs. Wouldn’t having a pass catching RB look nice here? Considering the many connections between the Houston staff and the Patriots, plus the joint practices the teams just conducted, this would be a classic Patriots move.

The target here would be inside LB, Brian Peters. He’s a rotational LB who plays primarily on special teams, but he’s also filled in at long snapper, another position the Patriots are looking to fill. Again, seems like a draft pick would be necessary to balance the trade, but there are too many connections here that just seem to make sense.