New England Patriots: 2018 NFL Draft Targets

With the NFL Draft getting closer, who will the New England Patriots look to draft when the day comes?

The New England Patriots shook up the NFL by trading their leading receiver, Brandin Cooks, to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for the number 23 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

For the Patriots, it is a clear sign that–after practically sitting out the 2017 NFL Draft–they are all in on an influx of talent in this year’s draft. New England recouped the first round draft pick they sent to New Orleans last year and the Patriots now have two first round picks and two second round picks thanks to the Jimmy Garoppolo trade to San Francisco.

With picks number 23 and 31 overall in the first round and number 43 and 63 overall in the second round, the Patriots are in position to move up and down the board on draft day. Add in the number 95 overall pick in the third round and the Patriots will have five picks in the first 100 selections. They also have two sixth round selections and a seventh round pick.

There are a lot of opinions in the media about what the Patriots will do with their picks including trade them for Odell Beckham Jr. (ludicrous and makes no sense), move up into the top ten picks of the draft (which is also extremely far-fetched), or move down and accumulate a plethora of draft picks in the middle rounds (which has been done numerous times).

Let me add one more opinion on what the New England Patriots are likely to do with their early picks. But before getting to that, let’s go back in time and look at the times Bill Belichick made two first round draft picks.