Nick Caserio Hints At Who Patriots May Target On Day 2

The New England Patriots sure have big plans for the 2020 NFL Draft. They don’t really like to reveal much about their actual moves. However, Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio shared a hint or two. New England decided to trade out of the first round of the draft. They sent the No. 23 overall pick to the Los Angeles Chargers for their No. 37 and No. 71 selections. Media members talked to Caserio during a conference call. One of the questions included the quarterback position. Will the Patriots add a quarterback?

“I think there’s a number of players kind of in a pocket here probably these next two to three rounds across positions,” Caserio said. “When going back and evaluate what happened tonight, six or seven (offensive) tackles went, six or seven corner(backs) went, six receivers, four quarterbacks. Going into the draft, I think the expectation was that’s probably how it was going to shake out. Certain positions may have a little bit more left over here moving forward.”

Nick Caserio is confident about the Patriots’ Draft

New England didn’t do much, and other NFL teams were picking offensive tackles and cornerbacks. Head coach Bill Belichick doesn’t need to add someone at that position. That’s why the team decided to trade out of the first round. Belichick, Caserio and Co are pretty confident about their picks, and they are going after a quality player. They are pretty confident about the possibility to land such player in the second and third rounds.

“Hopefully, we’re in a position where there’s still good football players that are available that we’re able to pick,” Caserio explained. “That’s how we feel. We’ll have to take it pick by pick here. There’s still good players that are kind of littered throughout the draft here.

The organization has multiple options. Belichick and Caserio will enter Day 2 with five picks total in the second and third rounds. They own the 37th, 71st, 87th, 98th and 100 pick.

Maybe the Patriots will go after some of the remaining quarterback or wide receiver options. They may also decide to trade down again. Caserio and Belichick have created the perfect formula, and they’d rather go with a trade.

“You basically have 12 picks in five rounds, so we’ll see,” Caserio noted. “Like I said, we’re going to look at what’s left, then kind of recalibrate, move around a little bit. We certainly have the ammunition, the flexibility to do so.”

This is a rather challenging offseason for the Patriots. They are going after a quarterback after Tom Brady decided to leave and sign a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Patriots need to fortify the offensive line and avoid some of the mistakes they made in 2019.