Patriots: 3 draft trades that could change NE’s first round
By Mike Luciano
No. 2: Carolina trades out of No. 8
The Panthers appear to have taken themselves out of the quarterback market after trading for Sam Darnold, and they might be willing to take themselves out of the top 10 altogether. With holes on the offensive line and at wide receiver following Curtis Samuel’s departure, the Panthers could trade down and get more picks to fill those slots.
The Panthers could give up that pick to any team in need of a quarterback or potential franchise left tackle like Penei Sewell or Rashawn Slater. The potential to leapfrog the Patriots in order to get a quarterback could make No. 8 quite the hot commodity, and that should scare that daylights out of New England.
The Patriots could miss out on a quarterback if this Carolina trade happens.
Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, and whichever quarterback San Francisco takes at No. 3 are written in blood at the very top of the draft. This means there will only be two quarterbacks that could slip to New England. With Atlanta, Denver, and even Philadelphia in need of a QB after Nick Sirianni’s comments, one of those two falling to No. 15 is very unlikely.
The Patriots themselves could make the trade with Carolina, but teams picking near them might have more in terms of draft capital and players to offer. The Patriots could be stuck in quarterback purgatory after this draft following two decades of stability.