The case for trading UP in the draft

[signbabybrady]

Absolutely correct. The Patriots need to create opportunities in 2026 with any trade. Trading down the board will give them a chance to achieve what they hope to accomplish on the OL and can come with 3rd or 4th in 2026 which is the sweet spot in most drafts to find players who can contribute right away at a very reasonable cost for 3-4 years. This draft does not have any single lock to turn around a franchise - Abdul Carter comes close.

As I have said many times, an offensive lineman who can play immediately is the #1 need, and if I'm reading the draft accurately, there will be one of those guys at the #8 through #12 slot in the first round. If they can do that and get a valuable pick in 2026, that would be a win for this team that needs at least two good years in a row of draft plus free agency to contend. I also believe they can add a veteran WR and a rookie WR in the middle rounds to help Drake Maye - if the OL can pass block.

I question the logic especially in such a weak draft. You're admitting none of the OL are worth top 5 but then ignoring the reasons and assuming they can play immediately so let's take them 8-12.

Taking one 8-12 doesn't make arms longer or get rid of injury concern.

I fear we might get screwed on the OL again unless we can pull a trade out of nowhere.

 

[Triumph]

It looks like Deion Sanders is staying at the University of Colorado, so he'll be focused on his players and not a hovering presence. The Patriots don't need another first round QB, but if Shadeur Sanders turns up with the Jets, it will be entertaining and make the QB group in the AFC East very interesting. Drake will have a better year with Josh McDaniels and a re-vamped OL so the mix of Josh Allen, Tua, Drake and Shadeur would make for some fun weekends.

Colorado is small potatoes.

Deon loves the spotlight and to be relevant. No way that he can keep his mouth shut now.

 

[goheels22002]

Colorado is small potatoes.

Deon loves the spotlight and to be relevant. No way that he can keep his mouth shut now.

I think you underestimate how complicated being a Bowl Subdivision power conference head coach has become with NIL, the portal, 105-player roster, boosters, and spotlight to make the 12-team playoff. He's running a big operation and has found out how competitive it is. Deion may comment occasionally on Shadeur's progress but it won't be his focus.

 

[Triumph]

I think you underestimate how complicated being a Bowl Subdivision power conference head coach has become with NIL, the portal, 105-player roster, boosters, and spotlight to make the 12-team playoff. He's running a big operation and has found out how competitive it is. Deion may comment occasionally on Shadeur's progress but it won't be his focus.

Jerry Jones called Deon and not the other way around.

You don't have an in depth conversation like that if you're 100% committed to Colorado. Now, both of Sanders sons have entered the 2025 Draft. When asked if Deon got to the formal interview part with Dallas, Deon replied that he did not need to go and interview because everyone knows who he is.

That size ego is too big for Colorado and NCAA ball.

 

[Ray Ray 717]

I would rather rely on tape rather than measurables. Campbell's arms have always been that length...its not like they shrunk all of a sudden. The tape says he is a franchise OT and has played against elite talent while at LSU. I don't see a need to trade up

Thank god you are not our GM. Gator armed guard Campbell would be disastrous at #4 overall

 

[Boston Boxer]

Thank god you are not our GM. Gator armed guard Campbell would be disastrous at #4 overall

all i am saying is do you watch the tape on him? He fills a major need for us and worthy of the #4 pick. you can disagree, but don't be disrespectful.

 

[Thelonious]

Thanks Jerod.

Agreed. All three teams picking above us need a QB, the Draft remains the most cost-effective way to find a franchise QB, and there just so happen to be two QB’s in this year’s class that are graded high enough to go at the top of the Draft. When it comes to addressing needs, QB usually tends to be the tiebreaker and get priority.

The Titans are posturing to see if they can get a king’s ransom for their pick, but ultimately I believe they won’t get cute with it and will just take Cam Ward 1st overall.

Then you have the Browns whose backs are against the wall in terms of the cap so they can’t afford to spend on a QB in free agency. Reports suggest they’re taking QB at #2 and in this case it would be Shedeur Sanders.

The Giants want a QB too and are rumored to be looking to trade up for #1 so if the Titans don’t go for Ward it could be the Giants instead. But it’s looking very possible that it goes QB-QB and then it comes down to preference for whoever picks at 3. If the Giants don’t trade up I assume they’ll sign a veteran QB to hedge their bets with short term and then draft Travis Hunter, who would address their problem at CB with the bonus of being able to contribute at WR as well.

That leaves us with Abdul Carter, the consensus top pass rusher in the Draft with room to grow as a run stopper as well. The stress fracture is a concern, but at this point every prospect worth consideration has something to be cautious of. I think it’d be an easy decision to take him and keep our fingers crossed for the foot to heal properly.

1. Titans - Cam Ward
2. Browns - Shedeur Sanders
3. Giants - Travis Hunter
4. Patriots - Abdul Carter

I guess the real question is, will any of the teams needing a QB be dumb enough to regard Shadeur as anything other than a PR fabrication constructed by his dad, football's P T Barnum?

 

[Thelonious]

I'm not angry at Mayo for beating Buffalo. I'm angry at his having just the right level of incompetence over the previous 17 weeks that he put them in that position to begin with.

I have compassion for Jerrod on a personal level, but he was a lousy hire, never should have been offered the job, never should have accepted it. He's gone, but the guy most directly to blame for his hire and for his predictable failure is Robert. Past age 75 or so, decline can be sudden and precipitous. I think Robert, at 83, is there. You saw his performance at the recent press conference. Time to let the kid have a whack at it, Robert, and thanks for everything.

 

[NFL Mystique]

I have compassion for Jerrod on a personal level, but he was a lousy hire, never should have been offered the job, never should have accepted it. He's gone, but the guy most directly to blame for his hire and for his predictable failure is Robert. Past age 75 or so, decline can be sudden and precipitous. I think Robert, at 83, is there. You saw his performance at the recent press conference. Time to let the kid have a whack at it, Robert, and thanks for everything.

I think Mayo is a good person and he deserves Patriots HOF induction.

He was just a bad coach.

 

[captain stone]

Prevailing wisdom suggests the Patritos should try to trade down from #4. After all, Will Campbell now officially has t-rex arms, Graham is good but we're looking at a loaded FA class for DL, and the other guys who likely appeal to the team (Simmons, Warren, Mykel WIlliams) would be extreme reaches at the 4th pick. Why not take what we can get and load up on lottery tickets?

Well, because most lottery tickets are losers, and this draft has exactly two blue chip players and maybe 10 guys with solid 1st round grades. We know the 4th overall pick is not going to fetch nearly the value we normally expect in a draft this weak at the top. What, then, is the actual value of moving down? Significantly lower the floor of our 1st round pick for a 1 in 3 shot of landing a starter with a 3rd rounder? No, thank you.

Consider all the chatter that the Browns are looking to collect picks and move down. This is a team that needs to blow it up and start over, and they see a much more fertile QB class in 2025. Now ask, what will it take to move up from #4 to #2 in a weak draft class with no elite QB? It could cost fifty cents on the dollar. If it does, and if this team is indeed ascending as it should be, then this is the last best chance to land a transformative star.

(All this contingent of course on a successful free agency)

There is NO case - zip, zero, zilch - for trading-up from #4. None.

 

[Thelonious]

I think Mayo is a good person and he deserves Patriots HOF induction.

He was just a bad coach.

He is a good person. He was a solid if unspectacular player, a great teammate apparently, and a failed HC. Whether all that justifies "fame," I'm not sure, but inviting him in would be a good gesture. It's not as if his failures were entirely of his own making, after all, and I suppose an induction ceremony would welcome him back as a member of the family, so to speak. On sheer merit, i think there are other past players, not yet inducted, who ought to be ahead of him in line, but maybe that doesn't matter. It's sort of painful that he has felt a need to remain in hiding since he was fired.

 

[varjao]

There is no case, either stay put or if there is a trade partner it's their obligation to trade down, get Campbell with a less expensive pick and adress another OL or WR in the 2nd and 3 rd round.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I think Mayo is a good person and he deserves Patriots HOF induction.

He was just a bad coach.

As a player, yeah. But given it's fan voting, it's gonna be a while before fans forgive him for his coaching.

 

[WhatJustHappened]

Good player, not PATS HOF WORTHY IMHO.

 

[BennyBledsoe]

You mean, get less opportunities to get players to help fill the holes on literally every level of the roster?

No thanks

 

[captain stone]

MayoNays in the NEP HOF? That’s a ****ing Joke.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I don’t see any argument for trading up. They need their top picks and have plenty of options at 4 to improve the team.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

If they think with CONVICTION that Carter or Hunter are FRANCHISE CORNERSTONE LEVEL SPECIAL and no one else is, then that's plenty reason to trade up IMO. They need cornerstone players more than anything else.

While Hunter/Carter seem the clear top of the class this year, I'm not sure I have such conviction in projecting either as a franchise cornerstone player that I'd take that leap of faith though. But they need to make that call based on an actual scouting analysis of those guys and all the other players as opposed to just a vibe check like us fans do.