Three trades the New England Patriots could make with the Detroit Lions
With little going on over the past week or so, it's time to play a game I like to call, "Wouldn't it be neat if...?" The premise is simple. There are 31 NFL teams besides the New England Patriots, which means there are 31 potential trade partners.
That said, wouldn't it be neat if we came up with three trades the Patriots could make with each team in the league? In this particular edition, as you can tell from the title, I will look at three trades the Patriots could make with the Detroit Lions.
1. Amon-Ra St. Brown and a 2024 3rd-round pick for New England's 2024 1st-round pick
The New England Patriots are in desperate need of wide receiver help, and since Deandre Hopkins doesn't like the clam chowder here, it's safe to say he will not be signing with them. Juju Smith-Shuster is more of a number two receiver, and it would place an unfair burden on him to carry the bulk of the receiving duties this year.
Amon-Ra St Brown pulled in 100 catches in 2022 for the first time in his career and had his first 1,000-yard receiving season. He is still on his rookie contract, and therefore, he would cost you much less than Hopkins, who is likely to garner an 8-figure deal per year.
Using the Marquise Brown to Arizona deal from 2022 as the benchmark (since he had very similar stats to St. Brown and was also on his rookie deal), the Patriots trade a first-round pick in the 2024 draft and get back St. Brown and a 2024 third-round pick from the Lions.
2. Jalen Mills and a 2024 5th-round pick for the Detroit Lions 2024 3rd-round pick
Mills is in the final year of his deal with the Patriots, and he's only 29 years old. This move frees up $700,000 against the cap for the Patriots and allows them to move up two rounds in the next NFL draft.
From the Lions' perspective, head coach Dan Campbell is a ground-and-pound type of coach. He loves to run the ball and play physical defense. For some unknown reason, the Lions traded their second-best cornerback, Jeff Okudah, to the Falcons for essentially nothing. Jerry Jacobs is the team's top returning corner, but the two players next in line (Will Harris and Amani Oruwariye) allowed a 65% completion percentage and 106 passer rating in 2022. Mills' passer rating against was 83.4, with a 60% completion percentage.
The Lions did sign Emmanuel Moseley in the off-season, but he has only played 33 games over the last five years and is currently hurt. They also signed Cameron Sutton, who figures to be a starter, but they need depth at the position in a bad way.
3. Mac Jones for Hendon Hooker (straight up)
Listen. If you've been reading my blogs, you knew where this was going. I am not a fan of Mac Jones or how he played in 2022. I'm not interested in cutting him some slack or seeing how he does with a new coordinator. I do however love Hendon Hooker and what he brings to the table.
He has a big arm, which Mac does not, and is exceptionally mobile (or will be when he gets back from injury). He is a year older than Mac, even though he is a rookie, but he could easily become the team's quarterback of the future.
Let Bailey Zappe start 2023 and see how he does, and maybe by mid-season, Hooker is ready to take the reigns. This deal works out well for the Patriots, but the Lions make out pretty also, as they can then cut Jared Goff, saving them $15 million in 2023 and $31 million in 2024.