The wide receiver options for the Patriots are starting to look slimmer and slimmer.
Recent moves around the league and developments that continue to unfold in the wide receiver market tend not to favor the Patriots.
Here are just a few of the headlines that have been in the news around the NFL within the past week or so:
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“Patriots no longer pursuing Cardinals wide receiver, DeAndre Hopkins”
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“Jets wide receiver Elijah Moore traded to the Browns”
- “Sean Payton says Broncos will not trade Jerry Jeudy or Courtland Sutton”
As the offseason progresses, the wide receivers market continues to thin out. However, considering the upgrades done around the division, such as Jalen Ramsey to Miami and Aaron Rodgers likely playing for the Jets, the Patriots should still look everywhere around the league to improve the roster.
While most of the names surrounding the market consist of DeAndre Hopkins and Jerry Jeudy, maybe a Tee Higgins rumor floats around occasionally; that doesn’t mean the Patriots can’t search elsewhere.
Therefore, there might be a few potential players around the league that, if called about, the opposing front office wouldn’t have many reservations about dealing them to New England.
Let’s look at three names of wide receivers the Patriots could look at as potential acquisitions within the coming months…
Option One: Make a deal for the veteran Seahawk
When it comes to consistent production at the wide receiver position, none do it much better than Tyler Lockett. The eight-year Seahawk could be the perfect addition to New England this season.
Lockett is entering his age-31 season after his fourth straight season totaling over 1,000 receiving yards. In each season since 2019, Lockett has caught over 70 passes, and gotten at least eight touchdowns, all while playing at least 16 games in each of those seasons.
If there was ever an organization that values consistent production over a long period of time, it’s the New England Patriots. When you combine Lockett’s availability with the talent he’s brought year in, and year out, it’s almost like Lockett could play well for any team.
While Lockett is on the older side for a receiver, he’s proven to still be able to play at a high level. In addition, he’s on a pretty team-friendly contract until 2025, so it’s not like the Patriots would be “stuck with him” if this hypothetical deal doesn’t work out.
If the Seahawks were to show any willingness to deal Lockett, the Patriots should jump on it.
While the structure for a deal like this may be a bit difficult to forecast, it seems like a deal that looks something like this gives out good value for both sides.
For New England, you acquire Lockett to create a very respectable WR core in Tyler Lockett, JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, and Tyquan Thornton. While KB is a great player, with the acquisition of Lockett, he most likely would find himself again underutilized for another season. Dealing him off to Seattle in this scenario gives him the opportunity in Seattle, along with the Seahawks getting back a receiver of value.
The Seahawks also acquire a third-round pick for an aging receiver. As a result, the Seahawks can continue to add to their stockpile of picks and potentially draft a receiver in this draft or next.
Based on financial and contractual reasons, this deal would most likely occur after June 1st. This would reduce Lockett’s dead money for the Seahawks from $21 million to $7 million.
Option Two: Acquire the 2021 OPOY from LA
Now, this is where things get a bit crazy, but hear me out.
While the Rams were able to do a lot to acquire some of their top talents during their 2021 championship run (trading for Matthew Stafford, Jalen Ramsey, and even Sony Michel), a lot of this was at the cost of their draft picks.
In this year’s draft, the Rams currently hold a second-round pick, two third-round picks, and a few day three picks. However, as the Rams’ championship window continues to close over the next few months, the front office may be looking to acquire more picks and young talent.
This is where the Patriots come in. Kupp would immediately become New England’s primary option on offense and become a vacuum for receptions in Bill O’Brien’s new offense.
However, the price for Kupp should be expected to be steep. Kupp is entering his age-30 season, and while Kupp is on the older side for a receiver, you would expect Kupp to be worth a bit more value than the typical 30-year-old receiver.
A good basis for Kupp’s value could be to look at how much the Dolphins gave up for Tyreek Hill a year ago. In that trade, the Dolphins sent the Chiefs five picks. Three in 2022 (a first, second, and fourth), and two in 2023 (a fourth and a sixth).
Here’s a similar package New England could put together, assuming this trade goes down post-June 1st for cap-saving reasons.
Now, is this a move we would typically see the Patriots make? Absolutely not.
In the most significant trade the Patriots have made at receiver in team history (the deal for Randy Moss), New England gave up just a fourth-round pick to get him. Of course, this deal would look a bit different than that, and this typically isn’t how Belichick does business.
However, in a time of desperation, the Patriots could end up inevitably making a splash at WR. In this situation, the Patriots land Kupp.
I held off giving the Rams as much, or more than the Chiefs got for Tyreek Hill for various reasons. First, Tyreek was younger, the Dolphins had to give him a new contract at the time of that deal, and the value of wide receivers across the league seems that it may have declined a bit.
Even in this deal, the Rams can stockpile multiple picks for the next couple of seasons. They trade their star receiver to help kickstart their rebuild, and the Patriots finally get their hands on a true number-one receiver.
Option Three: Trade for San Francisco’s rising star
This is a little less flashy of a deal than the last two trades were, but make no mistake, Brandon Aiyuk would be a fantastic addition to New England.
Coming off his third season, despite instability under center all season and lacking a genuinely elite quarterback through his first three seasons, Aiyuk continues to produce. He is coming off a season where he put up 78 receptions, 1015 yards, and eight touchdowns. A pretty quiet yet productive year for the 25-year-old.
While New England has struggled to assemble an ample package for another 2020 first-round pick in Jerry Jeudy, the Patriots may find more success with the 49ers in a package for Aiyuk.
The 49ers are a team loaded with talent, and with this talent comes eventually heavy contracts on the books. So if San Francisco wants to retain the most important pieces of their core, they may be put in a position where they’re forced to trade some of their more talented players to prevent them from having to extend them in the future.
This gives New England the perfect opportunity to step in and make an offer.
This is a package similar to what Denver has desired for Jerry Jeudy. With similar ages, contract situations, and production from these two receivers, you would expect for their cost to align pretty well. This trade allows San Francisco to acquire new, young talent on a rookie deal this upcoming draft while the Patriots add some explosiveness and youth to their receiving core.