NFL Draft Expert Has Patriots Moving Down… Taking This Player In Round 1

The New England Patriots will have to play really smart this offseason, and Round 1 of the 2020 NFL Draft may be really important for them.

The organization lost Tom Brady in free agency. The star quarterback signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has already moved into his new home in the Tampa Bay area. Brady will stay with the Bucs for at least two years and many believe that he will retire as a Buccaneer.

How will the Patriots handle this void? Will they draft a quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft? Will they go after a wide receiver? They need a tight end, too. Head coach Bill Belichick will have to try on the offense. The Patriots’ offense struggled in 2019, and Belichick won’t let the same thing happen again. According to a draft expert, the Patriots won’t do any of this.

The Patriots will play smart in Round 1

NFL.com’s Chat Reuter is convinced that coach Belichick and Co. will engage in a trade deal with the Green Bay Packers to swap picks 23 and 30. Reuter believes that the Patriots will try to get TCU defensive tackle Ross Blacklock with the No. 30 pick.

“The Patriots swap first-rounders with the Packers and add third- and sixth-round picks in this move. My guess is that New England will then use its bevy of picks to move up in the second or third rounds — or they might trade some combination of their (now) five selections between Nos. 87 and 125 for 2021 second- and third-rounders. Meanwhile, the Pats land a versatile defensive lineman here with real potential as an outside/inside force.”

This doesn’t come as a surprise, especially if you take into consideration the fact that Belichick likes to do a draft-day trade to get the players his team needs. New England need more talent on the interior defensive line, and they’d use well every player that comes to Foxboro.

Reuter believes that the Pats will get both Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts and Missouri tight end Albert Okwuegbunam in round 3.

The 2020 NFL Draft will start at 8 pm ET on Thursday.