The Patriots approached the first week of free agency as they should have, given their very clear roster needs and the urgency to sign the kind of players who would be immediate upgrades. It could be argued they did that at wide receiver, too, when they signed Romeo Doubs, even if he isn't the flashy name fans were hoping for.
He will be an improvement for the receiving corps, particularly with Stefon Diggs being released last week, but there is still a big need to find a clear-cut WR1, and it's looking increasingly like the only way the Patriots will get that is if they trade for one.
That is why AJ Brown remains a top candidate heading into the draft, and the Eagles are making it easy to assume he will be on the move.
Before that, however, there's a chance the Patriots could trade for someone else, like George Pickens, as Moe Moton of Bleacher Report suggests, despite Pickens being franchise-tagged by the Cowboys.
The Patriots should do all that they can to trade for George Pickens if the Cowboys botch extension
Among a list of surprise trades that could still happen before or after the draft, Moton floated the Cowboys' inability to reach an agreement on an extension with Pickens, and that opened the door for the Patriots to swoop in and take him.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport already reported that Pickens will not report to the Cowboys' facility this offseason until a deal is reached, and given how poorly Jerry Jones has worked in the past, it wouldn't be surprising if that's the inevitable future.
If Mike Vrabel and Co. were willing to send a first-round pick to the Eagles for Brown, as some reports have suggested, they should have no issue doing the same for a younger, more explosive player like Pickens.
At just 25 years old, he's coming off another impressive season in which he logged 93 passes for 1,423 yards and nine touchdowns, and doesn't have any lingering injury concerns, the way Brown does with his knee, and he could become an invaluable part of the Patriots' offense for Drake Maye for years to come.
That's the kind of investment the Patriots should be seriously considering, especially if the Brown saga has no end in sight, which it already looks like. If Pickens becomes available sooner than that, there's no reason to sit on their hands and wait for the Eagles to change their mind, and they should trade for Pickens instead.