New England Patriots make big trade up in PFF Mock Draft

With the NFL Draft getting closer, Pro Football Focus recently released a seven-round mock draft. What did they have the New England Patriots do?

The New England Patriots are preparing for the NFL Draft and with four picks in the first two rounds, they have ammo to be major players. Coming into the draft, there is a lot of speculation about what the Patriots will do.

As of now, the Patriots do still have some needs on the defensive side of the ball. Also, the Patriots could use one of their early picks on a young quarterback to groom behind Brady. While many mock drafts don’t include trades, the recent seven-round mock by Pro Football Focus did.

Due to some surprising picks early on, a projected top pick fell in the first round. Seeing an opportunity, the New England Patriots used some of that ammo and pulled off a big deal with the Washington Redskins. Here was the deal they pulled off.

"[Trade details: Washington sends their Round 1 pick (No. 13 overall) & their Round 4 pick (No. 109 overall) in exchange for New England’s Round 1 pick (No. 23 overall) and Round 2 pick (No. 43 overall).]With Chubb still available at pick 13, New England trades up to take the type of talent the Patriots rarely have the ability to pick early enough in the draft to see, but this year are equipped with enough ammo to make the move. Belichick gets an explosive edge presence who excels against the run, as evidenced by his 11.0 percent run-stop percentage in 2017, which was second best among edge defenders in the 2018 draft class. – Louie Benjamin"

Seeing the Patriots move up in the first round is a very strange thing to see, but getting a talent like Bradley Chubb is excellent with the 13^th overall pick. One of the needs for the Patriots is on the edge, and Chubb is considered to be the best of the bunch at that position.

In his last two seasons at NC State, Chubb was able to total over 20 tackles for loss both years. In addition to that, he also totaled 10 sacks each year. Chubb was one of the most productive edge players the past two seasons in college, and he would be a great addition for the Patriots.

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One of the weaknesses of the Patriots last season was their production on the edge, as they badly missed Dont’a Hightower. Adding a player like Chubb would allow the Patriots to move Hightower inside more without compromising them on the edge. This trade would be a bold one, but it would certainly upgrade the defense for the Patriots.