Draft Expert Dane Brugler: 'Good Chance' Patriots Trade Back Into Second Round
BOSTON (CBS) - Fans of the New England Patriots have had an exciting offseason in free agency after what was a disappointing playoff loss back in January at the hands of Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.
Fast forward three months later and the NFL Draft is finally upon us after a longer-than-normal wait, and what's more exciting than staying up late on a Thursday night, waiting several hours for the Patriots to pick at no. 29, and having them trade back into the second round and push their selection back another 24 hours?
It's a very real possibility according to draft expert Dane Brugler of CBS Sports.
Brugler joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Adam Jones Show Monday night to provide a preview of the draft.
It's not a draft class loaded with surefire franchise quarterbacks, but this year's crop is knee deep in quality prospects. First round draft picks carry a fifth-year team option, so when taking all this into consideration, Brugler suggests teams will take their top choice early, then look to get into the latter half of the first round through trades to get their quarterback.
And when teams are fighting for draft positioning late in the first round, that makes for a very advantageous situation if you're Patriots head coach and general manager Bill Belichick.
"The second, third and fourth round picks in this draft are future NFL starters. The overall depth in this draft is going to cause maybe a lot less trades, but at the same time it could cause a few more trades. Teams will be more likely to trade back for maybe less than asking price because the value a second, third and fourth round pick brings this year with the depth," said Brugler.
"So if the Patriots can move back 10 spots into that early second I think there's a good chance who they want will still be on the board, and they can pick up an extra third round pick in the process. I'm sure Bill Belichick and some of those savvy teams in the late first would love to receive calls from teams looking for a quarterback."
Listen below for the full discussion, including the quarterback prospects, the fifth year option rule and much more:
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