The New England Patriots are heading into yet another offseason as the reigning champions. They won another Super Bowl, but like most years, saw a good chunk of their team depart this offseason.
They lost defensive coordinator Brian Flores to the Dolphins, and Flores took some assistant coaches with him. They lost star pass-rusher Trey Flowers to the Lions in free agency, Rob Gronkowski to retirement, and last year's starting left tackle Trent Brown to the Raiders. They have a lot of talent they need to replace, and the best way to do it is through the draft.
The Patriots are always among the most aggressive teams in trading draft picks, but they're often trading down to stockpile more picks. This year the Pats might be looking to acquire more early picks however.
“The Patriots have had preliminary discussions about trading up in the first round,” a source told Ryan Hannable of WEEI Radio.
“The source indicated the Patriots are looking at the 15-20 range,” Hannable writes. The Patriots haven't made any big free agent acquisitions, so Hannable thinks the Patriots could make a splash in the draft to make up for it. He speculates that the Patriots may have their eye on taking a tight end in the first round to help replace Gronkowski.
T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant, both from Iowa, are the top two tight ends on most people's boards. Both will likely be gone by the first time the Patriots pick at 32nd overall, so they could be forced to trade up if that is indeed who they're targeting.
Hannable lists the “Giants (No. 17), Titans (No. 19) and Seahawks (No. 21)” as potential trade partners to keep an eye on.