Patriots rip off one of their biggest rivals in lopsided first round draft trade proposed by ESPN analyst
The Patriots are looking to get back to the Super Bowl in 2026 and ESPN’s Bill Barnwell recently mocked a trade that would certainly keep them on track for a return to the big game.
NFL rivalries extend everywhere – including the NFL Draft. Typically, teams like the New England Patriots and New York Jets wouldn’t give each other the time of day when it comes to making deals during the draft.
The bitter AFC East rivals don’t want to help each other one iota and that makes sense. However, we’ve seen more intra-division trades in recent years (looking at you, NFC North). So, it’s not completely out of the question.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell put out a mock draft Monday that included potential trade scenarios for each team. When he got to the Patriots, he picked the Jets as a dance partner with the outcome and reasoning below:
Patriots get: 2-33, 2-44
Jets get: 1-31, 2-63, 4-131
“This would be a relatively lopsided trade by the Johnson chart, but there are two reasons the Patriots would demand a premium to move down two picks here.
One is the intra-division tax, as the Patriots probably won’t want to help the rival Jets add to their roster. The other relates to fifth-year-option flexibility. By trading out of the first round, the Patriots would lose the ability to sign their pick to a fifth-year option, which offers meaningful upside if you hit on your pick.
Every general manager believes that they will nail their picks, so missing out on one extra year of cost control makes that two-pick swap more important for the Patriots than it might seem.”
Bill barnwell
ESPN
This would be a total win for the Patriots and their 2026 draft plans
Move back two spots in order to jump up nearly 20 spots in the second round? As Barnwell states, this tilts heavily in the Patriots’ favor, even when including No. 131 in the mix. I mean, we are talking a back-end pick, here.
Per the Jimmy Johnson draft pick value chart, the Patriots would net +123 points in this draft trade, which is the near-equivalent of the 94th overall pick. Aka, the third-to-last pick of Round 3.
A Day 2 pick is a hefty difference for this kind of trade. Especially when considering the fact it’s highly likely a quarterback won’t be involved. Signal-callers always up the ante in trades, but it’s far more probable Ty Simpson is long gone by the time the clock starts on No. 31.
There’s also the lack of blue-chip talent in this draft. Teams are going to find far more value in Rounds 2-4 than they will in Round 1. By trading out of Round 1, the Patriots put themselves in a great position to get the draft’s best value. And that’s not sacrificing any talent, whatsoever.
For instance, there’s a great chance R Mason Thomas is still there at 33. So, if the Patriots can trade back two spots and simultaneously move up 19 selections, that’s worth the dice roll, all day long. A guy like Mason Thomas would be a great replacement for the recently-departed K’Lavon Chaisson.
It’s really easy to beat up on the Jets, these days, but the Patriots should absolutely go for the jugular if this scenario comes to fruition. The Jets are the Jets, after all.
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