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The New England Patriots head into next week with what they’ll do with the #4 overall pick being somewhat out of their hands.
They’re at the mercy of what the Cleveland Browns (#2) and New York Giants (#3) do ahead of them, and it sounds like one team’s decision is all but locked up, while another remains in question.
Browns GM Andrew Berry sounds like he has a favorite ahead of next week. He apparently recently compared Travis Hunter to Los Angeles Dodger star Shohei Ohtani, showing a clear affinity for the Colorado standout. In his mind, Ohtani’s ability at the plate, in addition to being a terrific pitcher, makes him “a unicorn if you get to use him both ways.”
Needless to say, it’s clear he really likes Hunter. It also potentially tells us that’s the direction the Browns will be leaning when they’re on the clock next week.
That leaves the Giants to dictate who will be available when New England is on the clock. They reportedly went and worked out Shedeur Sanders this week, with visits with both Jalen Milroe and Tyler Shough reportedly upcoming. Despite having both Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, the Giants are seemingly getting set to take a page out of what Atlanta did last April.
Despite having given Kirk Cousins a massive contract that offseason, the Falcons still went and selected Michael Penix Jr. in the draft. That left Cousins unhappy, but a subpar performance by the veteran at least left Atlanta with a talented fallback option to carry them moving forward.
Now, it seems like the Giants might do the same. The only question will be if they’ll grab Sanders at #3, or instead take someone like Abdul Carter, or possibly trade out altogether.
According to CBS analyst Jonathan Jones, he doesn’t expect them to use their pick on a QB at #3.
“The common belief, as it stands today, is that they won’t take that player with the third overall pick,” wrote Jones on Friday. “But they’ll be ready to hop back into the first round if needed.”
Jones points out that the Giants might be willing to trade back into round one to grab a QB due to the fact that the fifth-year option would be there, compared to not having that in the later rounds. However, he also points out that no team has moved back into round one to take a quarterback since the Ravens did it in 2018 when they took Lamar Jackson.
Meanwhile, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for another team to try and jump up and make a trade with the Giants at #3 to take Sanders if he’s not who they want. But as it currently stands, most of the teams rumored to be looking for a QB are expected to do it in the middle rounds.
What that means for the Patriots remains to be seen, but it all hinges on what New York ultimately does. Maybe they take Sanders at #3 and open the door for the Patriots to have options at #4. Or maybe they instead pass on him and take Carter, or they trade out altogether.
Either way, that leaves New England having to sit in a “wait and see” type of scenario. If the player they want is gone, or they don’t see value where they are, they could listen to possible trades. Mike Vrabel said this week that when the time comes, they’ll explore their options and if trading back makes sense, they’ll do it. But it all ultimately comes down to what type of interest a team has and the offers they’re willing to make.
“There could come a time, and I think there’s a lot of possibilities,” said Vrabel. “There could be players that maybe we covet on the board that are there at a certain point, and we have to determine how far we are away from where that player is. That’ll be the same thing when you talk about trading back. How far do you want to trade back? Are there still going to be players there that you want at that particular level?”
“I think we all have experience enough doing that, of going up, going back, and presenting … Every time you pick, there’s probably a, ‘Are we going to stick and pick?’ Or, ‘What’s the best offer that we have?’ That’s the role of the personnel staff is to kind of field those calls as they come in. Sometimes they’re good offers, and sometimes they’re not so good offers.”
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