Patriots' next obvious move is a trade fans are finally asking for

The decision to release Stefon Diggs just one year into his contract made many believe that Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf had something up their sleeves the second the legal tampering window opened on Monday afternoon. The thought was they were going to pursue Alec Pierce heavily, and all reports suggested that, only for him to re-sign with the Colts for less than what other teams offered.

The Patriots were reportedly not among them, and they eventually missed out on Mike Evans, who was also said not to be in on it. There are still a few players they could consider signing, like Romeo Doubs or Jauan Jennings.

Or they could go the trade route, as they have been speculated to be considering for AJ Brown, and look at another option that is driving interest from other teams: Brian Thomas Jr.

He has been a player linked to the Patriots since he was speculated to be on the trade market, and now that the Jaguars have grown increasingly interested in moving on and the Patriots still need upgrades, it might be time they seriously look into the 23-year-old.

Brian Thomas Jr. might be the wide receiver the Patriots have been looking for

Because rumors have suggested the Eagles turned down the Patriots' offer for Brown, which included a first-round pick, there's a chance they won't be able to convince them to move the wide receiver is a good idea.

If that's the inevitable outcome, then looking toward a young player entering just his third season might be the best decision, especially after his impressive rookie season and what that could add to the Patriots' offense.

His 2025 season was mostly forgettable compared to that year, as he logged just 48 receptions for 707 yards and and two touchdowns compared to 87 catches for 1,282 yards and 10 scores the year before. However, the Jaguars have been far from a stable franchise, so it's hard to completely blame Thomas for a down year.

And beyond potential outside factors impacting his game, it's difficult to pinpoint what exactly could have gone wrong in Year 2 to see such a dip in his performance.

That could be reason enough for Jacksonville to trade him, hoping to get the most draft capital out of it as they can before potentially choosing to let him walk in free agency or just flat out cut him for no return.

The Patriots might be able to offer their second-round pick to get a deal done, or they could consider the No. 31 overall pick if they would feel comfortable with that. The problem is that most speculation suggests they'll target a pass rusher in Round 1, so giving up that pick could be costly.

Fortunately, though, the class is said to deep, so waiting until Round 2 or even attempting to trade up might not be too much of a problem, especially if they're able to get a legitimate WR1 out of the trade by adding Thomas to the roster.