The New England Patriots may have a difficult decision on April 24th. They’ll be on the clock at the draft in Green Bay and will likely have the fourth pick overall in their hands. Should there be an opportunity to trade down, they’ll be forced to make a choice.
It will be between adding more picks or standing pat and adding the top player at his position who fills a Patriots’ need. Making this decision easier will be just rejecting out-of-hand any trade that doesn't leave the team with a top 7-10 pick overall. Then, it’s a non-starter and should be nixed.
Yet, what if they do get an offer, say of the seventh to the tenth pick and additional premium, i.e., first to third-round picks, preferably in this draft in return? Then, things get very interesting, indeed. We’ll explore all this here.
The Patriots might have some good trade down options to entertain in the 2025 NFL Draft
Let’s assume the Patriots get a trade-down opportunity from one of the following teams with lower picks. At present, the order beneath the Pats from picks No. 5 through 10 looks like this:
5. Jacksonville Jaguars; 6. Las Vegas Raiders; 7. New York Jets; 8. Carolina Panthers;
9. New Orleans Saints; and 10. Chicago Bears.
Should a quarterback slip to the Patriots at pick No. 4 and one of the teams with the next six picks, like the Jets or Saints, needs a QB, then the sky could be the limit for a compensation package to the
Pats to trade down. No QB means no offense.
If the Pats can stay in the top seven, preferably, or, at worst, in the top 10 and garner additional second and third-round picks this year, it may be worth a trade down. This should only be the case if they feel they are guaranteed to still get one of their top-of-the-board players with that pick.
That may be an offensive tackle like Kelvin Banks Jr from Texas, the second-ranked LT in the draft, or maybe even Tetairoa McMillan from Arizona, a very highly rated wide receiver (if they haven't already filled the position in free agency).
Read More: Patriots draft picks in 2025, 2026 and beyond: Full list
Another top option might be the best running back in the draft, Ashton Jeanty, from Boise State. None of these players should be considered a consolation prize. They’d all be prizes. But what if the only trade option is out of the top 7-10? That’s next up for discussion.
If the trade offers aren't good enough, the Patriots need to use the 4th pick
The decision is easy if no trade worthy of the fourth-round pick emerges from the next six teams in the draft. The options with that pick are simply too enticing to surrender it for anything but a veritable bag of top picks this season. (Forget about 2026, there is only one season, 2025.)
The Patriots should brush aside any incremental haul of maybe one additional premium 2025 pick
unless they are assured of getting one of the top players in the draft with that pick. Otherwise, you
just say no. Why is that?
It's no surprise that this draft is top-heavy, even excepting the QBs, who the Pats don’t need. There are a few players whose exceptional talent warrants rejecting any half-baked trade offers and just taking the best, can't miss, potentially great NFL player on your board, who fills a key need.
Those needs are wide receiver, left tackle, edge, and defensive tackle above all others. Fortunately, two or three of the top positional players in the draft will likely be available to the Patriots
at pick No. 4. Each is a consensus, can’t-miss (as much as any player in the draft is arguably that), uber-talent at his respective position.
The absolute best athlete and player in the draft is Travis Hunter, a dual-threat cornerback/wide receiver from Colorado. He’s arguably the best in the draft at both positions. It’s almost a no-brainer if he slips to four. His talent is generational. Next up is the best player at a position in which the Pats have virtually no one, the edge. The candidate there is superb pass rusher Abdul Carter from Penn State, another home run pick.
Also, the best left tackle in the draft may be available. That's Will Campbell from LSU. Campbell is an immediate starter on the left unless the Pats manage to corral a top veteran like Ronnie Stanley from Baltimore in free agency. If they do, Campbell is a plug-and-play starter on the right.
Last is defensive tackle, Mason Graham from Michigan. Graham is a big, pocket-collapsing, impact defensive tackle. The Pats are thin at the position and again, he’s an immediate contributor, if not a starter right out of the gate. Those are the options if they keep the pick, and the Pats really can lose with any of them.