New England Patriots: Trade up or Trade Down in First Round?

With two picks in the first round, should the New England Patriots trade up, down, or stay put?

The New England Patriots head toward the 2018 NFL Draft Thursday night with significant draft capital. After making just four selections in the 2017 NFL Draft–and none until the third round–the Patriots have two first round picks, two second round picks and a third round pick. With a number of positions in need of an infusion of youth and speed, there are many ways the team can go with these picks.

While mock drafts pop up all over the Internet with the New England Patriots taking all five of their draft picks in the first three rounds, the reality is that Bill Belichick is going to make a number of moves on draft day. Last year the Patriots made three trades involving draft picks prior to the draft and three more on draft day. In 2016, there were three draft day trades made. In 2015 there were two draft day trades made.

The Patriots are going to wheel and deal on draft day–it is a tradition now. Belichick has failed to make a trade with draft picks only in 2004. New England has had success trading up and down to acquire assets. No team makes more moves on draft day and no team is equally comfortable moving up and down–even in the same round.

Per ESPN, on draft days the Patriots have moved down 21 times, have made 20 trades to move up in the draft, and made 21 moves for players or future picks. There is no definite way to predict what the Patriots will do, but with five of the first 95 picks in the 2018 NFL Draft, let’s review the team needs going into the draft before looking at options: