As the NFL trade deadline draws near on Oct. 29, the New England Patriots have areas that could use some bolstering and began the process of improving the roster by trading for Mohamed Sanu on Tuesday. 

Despite their undefeated record following Week 7, there are still some areas that need to be improved. Specifically, the reigning Super Bowl champs likely need a boost in some way, shape or form when it comes to the skill positions on offense. Defensively, the team could always add some play-makers, but given how deep and dominant they've been to start the year, it would make more sense to give up assets to help out Tom Brady's offense rather than the defense. 

New England has never been shy at making pretty significant moves in-season and they will almost certainly be taking and making calls throughout the league to better help them attain a record seventh Super Bowl title. With that in mind, here are four players that should be in the discussion for the Pats at the deadline.

Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard

O.J. Howard as been underutilized in the Tampa Bay offense this season. In six games played, the former first-round pick has just 13 receptions for 176 yards. The most targets he's seen this year came in Week 1 with five and has remained on the back-burner throughout the season as the Bucs have thrown mostly to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. 

If Bruce Arians decides to cut bait with Howard entirely, the 24-year-old could be a tremendous trade chip at the deadline as he still oozes talent and can be under team control through the 2021 season if his fifth-year option is picked up. 

As it relates to the Patriots, there is an obvious need for them to improve the tight end unit. Not only are they still reeling from the loss of Rob Gronkowski, but they've been playing musical chairs with the position the last few weeks due to injury and inconsistent play from the players they currently have on the roster. 

Howard would at the very least provide some young top-tier talent for Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels and Tom Brady to try and unlock. After all, Howard did flash in 10 games last season where he caught 34 passes for 565 yards and five touchdowns. 

The fact that Howard is also an Alabama product does add a level of intrigue as Belichick does take kindly to Nick Saban players. 

Falcons tight end Austin Hooper 

Austin Hooper is probably the least likely to get traded out of the players that I'll mention in this piece, but he's worth bringing up for a combination of reasons. As we mentioned above with Sanu, Atlanta is looking at a lost season and possibly a coaching change with Dan Quinn firmly on the hot seat. 

If they do decide to blow it up and have some sort of rebuild, Hooper could be a player they decide to try and attain assets with as he's in the final year of his deal. The Patriots, meanwhile, would love to add a young tight end that has seemingly improved every single year he's been in the league and already has 42 catches for 480 yards and three touchdowns this season. It's a breakout season for the tight end so his price tag could be steep.

It also shouldn't be slept on that Belichick has a close relationship with Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, who was with the Patriots organization from 2002-07.

Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders 

Emmanuel Sanders has been a target for the Patriots for quite some time. While he was a member of the Steelers in 2013, New England even signed the then-restricted free agent to an offer sheet, but Pittsburgh later matched. Since then, Sanders eventually made his way to the Broncos and has been there since 2014. 

With Denver now teetering out of playoff contention, they could look to move on from Sanders, who is in the final year of his contract. Despite coming off a torn Achilles tendon in 2018, Sanders has been solid for the Broncos this season catching 25 balls for 307 yards and two touchdowns. His skill set would be an ideal fit in McDaniels' offense.   

Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert 

This isn't the Cincinnati Bengals player that many expect to be on this list as A.J. Green has been put on the shopping list by many Patriots followers. That said, the team insists that they are not trading him, so let's operate under the assumption that they are telling the truth on that one. 

With that out of the way, let's look at Eifert, who is another veteran in the final year of his deal. He plays a position that the Patriots would like to improve upon and, from a talent perspective, would be an upgrade over the players they currently have. 

Of course, when you talk about Tyler Eifert you have to bring up his injury history. He's never played a full 16 games schedule in his career and the last time he managed just double-digit games played came back in 2013. So far this season, however, he's been able to play in all six of Cincy's contests and totaled 15 receptions for 105 yards and a score. 

It's not as flashy as the rest and certainly comes with injury risk, but this is the cheapest possible option for the Patriots at the deadline.  

The other "acquisitions" 

This last part of the piece is to simply point out that it takes two to tango. New England can't make another team trade them one of their players, so there is plenty of uncertainty that the trade market can/will actually produce anything for them. That said, they can better control how they use their injured reserve and possible players coming off of that, who could be looked at as "midseason acquisitions." 

Wide receiver N'Keal Harry, a 2019 first-round pick, has already taken the first step in this process as he's begun practicing after starting the year on injured reserve. Starting left tackle Isaiah Wynn is looked at as the favorite to be the second player to be brought back after he recovers from his toe injury. If both of those players can come back, the Patriots suddenly improved both their receiver unit and offensive line without having to give up any assets. 

As they currently have their backs up against the cap wall a bit, this scenario is a nice ace in their pocket if they strike out on the trade market.