The New England Patriots are a team in transition. Everything is in flux, from a new Head Coach and his coaching staff to a new player personnel guy to the necessity for a total roster transformation. Mike Vrabel has to make the 2025 offseason as successful as last year's, which was a total flop (absent Drake Maye).
Good teams are molded in the offseason. As for the Patriots in 2024, an offseason that fails inevitably leads to a similar season. It ain't rocket science. There is no season in the NFL, or any other league for that matter, than the one in front of you. Any other is an illusion.
The Patriots have to build for and plan to win now. Vrabel has to spend well and sign only the best possible free agents at positions of need. In the draft, forget to trade down for "value." Draft a few players who improve your team at key positions and forget anything else. There's one player in the draft who warrants a major investment. It's Colorado's Travis Hunter.
Travis Hunter warrants a Patriots' trade-up in the 2025 draft
If Mike Vrabel isn't convinced that you win with top players and scout and bring in the rest, then this theory can be thrown out the window. The speculation here is that he's very astute and knows you only win with enough top players. He'll act accordingly.
The best player in the draft and college football is Travis Hunter, who excels at not one but two positions: wide receiver, a top Patriots need, and cornerback. A meaningless, foolish win against the Buffalo Bills B-team in January tossed the number one pick out and also may have sealed the fate of then-Head Coach Jerod Mayo.
The Patriots would have had that top pick, and Hunter would have been guaranteed. They have the fourth overall pick and will have to be aggressive to get him. He's worth whatever it takes to move up. Hunter is a generational player and your No. 1 wide receiver from Day One of the first mini-camp. The Pats aren't getting Tee Higgin. That cements they should move up.
Hunter is probably the top receiver in the draft. He logged 96 catches for 1258 yards and 15 TDs. Yet, should Vrabel somehow fall into two top wideouts, he can instantaneously shift Hunter to cornerback. Why is that? According to Pro Football Focus. He's the best corner in the draft. If he plays receiver, he's a third-down, big-play addition on defense, as well.
What should the Patriots pay to move up 3 spots in the draft?
The Tennessee Titans have the draft's first overall pick because of the previously mentioned Patriots' gaffe. Can the Pats put a package together to secure that pick? Tennessee needs a quarterback and one of the top two, Colorado's Shedeur Sanders or Miami's Cam Ward could be available at pick No. 4. That makes a trade-up a possibility. What's the cost?
The Patriots will have to fork over their pick No. Four, probably their No. 2 pick, No. 38, and maybe a third-rounder (they have two), and/or possibly a player (maybe Joe Milton III?) and a higher pick in the 2026 draft. Hopefully, they can get back another 2025 fourth-round pick in the exchange. Whatever the cost along those lines is, they should make the deal.
Securing Hunter, the best player in the draft and an immediate starter at two positions is invaluable. The Pats have $128.3M in cap space. If Vrabel can plug massive holes at offensive left tackle and elsewhere on the porous O-line and add a top edge or two and a solid defensive tackle, the Pats can be back in business in 2025. When you have a quarterback, you can work wonders.
Look at the Patriots' transformation from 2000 to 2001. Add Tom Brady as a starter (the Pats also have a terrific young QB in Drake Maye) and a solid left tackle, Matt Light, in the draft, among others, and you go from the 2000 season disaster to a Super Bowl winner.
Trading uninspiring, solid current players is an option. Running back Rhamondre Stevenson, disappointing guard Mike Onwenu, safety Kyle Dugger, wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, and defensive tackle Davon Godchaux can be included in the Hunter deal or traded for draft capital.
The argument is that Mike Vrabel should do whatever it takes to bring Travis Hunter, a generational talent, to Foxborough. Trade 2025 picks, 2026 picks, and players in the optimum combination you can to Tennessee to get the job done. You win with top players. Travis Hunter is the best player in the 2025 NFL draft. Make the deal.