NFL Draft Rumors: New England Patriots to trade out of first round?

The New England Patriots are nearly always one of the most active teams during the first round of the NFL Draft.

In 2012, they actually moved up and wound up selecting both former Syracuse Orange defensive end Chandler Jones and former Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Dont’a Hightower, both of whom have made an impact in their first two seasons.

However, the Patriots seemingly more often than not trade out of the first round to acquire more assets, which is exactly what they did last season with the Minnesota Vikings.

This season, with the potential for quarterback to slide and teams in need coming up to get them, Mike Reiss believes the Patriots could be in a fantastic situation.

"Belichick would be pleased to trade out of the first round if the right package presents itself, similar to last year’s deal with the Minnesota Vikings that netted second- third-, fourth- and seventh-round picks. A 2015 first-rounder would obviously be preferred in any deal, but that might be asking for too much."

The Patriots also could decide they want a quarterback themselves – they’ve shown a lot of interest in the top signal-callers during the process.