Patriots Have Ample Opportunities to Trade Back in 2nd Round

Gaining draft capital during the draft has been a an age-old tactic by Bill Belichick, along with the more experienced general managers in the NFL.

With the Patriots sitting at 23rd overall in the first round this year, Belichick felt it was in his team's best interest to trade out of the first round in order to accumulate a second round pick - which they previously did not have - and a third round pick - which they now have four of. New England's first selection of the 2020 Draft is now slated to be 37th overall pick, which is part of what the Los Angeles Chargers gave to the Patriots in their deal for the 23rd overall pick.

But what if Bill Belichick wanted to trade back again to gain even more draft capital?

It sounds kind of crazy. Maybe it doesn't. But in a year where he needs to find more studs than duds, it would seem odd for Belichick to continue to delay the team's first pick by continually trading back. The Patriots are leading the league in draft picks on Days 2 and 3 (13) as it is, which gives Belichick plenty of firepower to package picks together and maneuver the draft board if he wants to.

But what if that's not enough?

If New England wanted to toy with the idea of making more than one selection in the second round, it would take quite a bit of draft capital to pull it off. But it's something they could pull off with room to spare...if they traded back.

The Saints, Jaguars, Jets and Falcons are reportedly looking to move up in Round 2 to some of the top guys still on the draft board, per NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. Three of those teams currently have a second round pick that sits in the middle part of the round (Jaguars 42, Falcons 47, Jets 48), meanwhile, New Orleans just own a 2020 second round selection.

Some buzz on Round 2:
— Among the players the #Bengals like at No. 33 are Ross Blocklock & Denzel Mims.
— #Colts (34) & #Dolphins (39) open to moving out.
— #Saints (CB? LB?), #Jets (CB?), #Jaguars (OT?), #Falcons among the teams who have made calls to move up.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 24, 2020

Miami and Indianapolis are reportedly willing to move back, but what if New England threw their name into the mix as well? If the Patriots were able to gain more assets by moving back from the 37th overall pick, they would have what it takes to move back into the second round and leave themselves with ample draft capital for the mid-to-late rounds.

If you grade picks based on Rich Hill's 2018 Draft Value Chart, here are the types of trade New England may be able to pull off with two of the four teams that are reportedly interested in trading up:

Jaguars - No. 42, No. 116 for No. 37

Falcons - No. 47, No. 119, No. 134 for No. 37

The Saints would be a tough team to trade with because 1) they don't have a second round pick 2) because they don't have a second round, New Orleans will likely have to package a 2021 pick to move up since they don't hold a lot of 2020 draft capital overall. That to me isn't very intriguing to the Patriots. And New York being a division rival counts them out from wanting to make a deal with their nemesis.

However, if New England was able to pull off a deal with Jacksonville or Atlanta, they could package several of their third and fourth round picks to trade with someone like the Seahawks or Colts - who have multiple second round picks - in order to climb their way back into the second round again. Those trades would be dependent on whether they traded back from No. 37 or if they stayed put and still wanted to get back into the second round to make another selection. But if they traded back, they could trade into the second round again and have more draft capital to work with after the trade.

It would be a frustrating move for Patriots fans to watch as they await for their team to make their first draft pick of the post-Tom Brady era. But it's something Bill Belichick might consider if he thinks he can obtain value more than once in the second round.

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