New England's offseason has been a fascinating one. On the one hand, the team has raised its ceiling by bringing aboard Bill O'Brien as the offensive coordinator to get the unit back on track after a tumultuous season, while also adding high-upside weapons like JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mike Gesicki. On the other, however, there's been plenty of scuttlebutt of in-house turmoil, especially as it relates to Bill Belichick and his view of quarterback Mac Jones.
As that bubbles to the surface and either evaporates or causes a flood across Foxborough, the team must continue shaping its roster for the 2023 season, and the next milestone in that endeavor is the 2023 NFL Draft. Bill Belichick historically only moves in one direction at the draft and that's down to collect more assets. That said, let's examine a trio of trade possibilities for New England and its No. 14 overall pick, which does include one scenario where the team trades up.
Trade down to No. 19
- Patriots get: 2023 first (No. 19), 2023 third (No. 82 overall), 2024 fifth
- Buccaneers get: No. 14 overall
Of course, we have to start with the Patriots trading down. After all, that's been a staple for Belichick in the opening round over his tenure, including last year when he traded down from No. 21 to No. 29 while picking up a handful of other assets.
That's what we have New England doing here under the scenario that Kentucky quarterback Will Levis falls to the team at No. 14. With the Patriots seemingly out of the quarterback market, they would be wise to put their pick up for sale to any team that wants to leap up and take their stab with Levis as its franchise signal-caller of the future.
For that, we look to the Buccaneers, who just saw Tom Brady retire this offseason and could be in the market for Levis with just Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask as QB options going forward. Tampa Bay would leapfrog other QB-needy teams like the Commanders (No. 16) and Lions (No. 18) to secure Levis, who CBS Sports NFL Draft expert Ryan Wilson does have falling in his recent mock draft.
As for the Patriots' piece of this deal, they dip down only a handful of spots which should still leave them within range of an offensive tackle like Tennessee's Darnell Wright, a cornerback like Joey Porter Jr. or even a receiver like Zay Flowers. They'd also gain another pick inside the top 100 and a future asset.
Trade down to No. 23
- Patriots get: 2023 first (No. 23), 2024 second
- Vikings get: 2023 first (No. 14)
This is under a similar scenario as the Tampa Bay trade, only with the Patriots gaining a better asset, albeit coming in next year's draft. The Vikings don't have much draft capital to work with this year (only have two picks inside the top 100), so they pay a premium to secure their developmental quarterback (likely Levis), who fell to New England at No. 14. Minnesota leapfrogs several QB-needy teams that likely would have snatched him up before the Vikings were on the clock at No. 23, and they give up a future second-round pick to give themselves some security at the most important position in the sport.
Kirk Cousins is entering the final year of his deal with the franchise, so the Vikings could allow Levis to develop behind Cousins over his final season before ascending to the starting role in 2024. Adding a future second-round pick is a tremendous arrow in New England's quiver to either deploy in another trade down the road or simply use it and bring aboard a top talent.
Trade up to No. 12
- Patriots get: 2023 first (No. 12)
- Texans get: 2023 first (No. 14), 2023 fourth (No. 107), 2024 fourth
Just because Belichick rarely trades up in the first round, it's not like it's never happened before. He did it TWICE back in 2012, dealing for Chandler Jones (No. 21 overall) and again for Dont'a Hightower (No. 25). He also traded up to No. 21 in 2002 for tight end Daniel Graham. That said, this would mark the highest the head coach has ever traded up in his tenure with New England. Prior to this scenario, the highest New England has moved up for a pick in the opening round of the draft was up to No. 13 overall when the team took defensive tackle Ty Warren in 2003.
Here, we have the Patriots calling up old friend Nick Caserio of the Texans to leapfrog the New York Jets and take Ohio State tackle Paris Johnson Jr. at No. 12. Both New York and New England are in the offensive tackle market this year and if a player of Johnson's caliber falls to No. 12, the Patriots would likely need to swing a trade like this or allow the Jets to snatch him up right before they are on the clock.
