NFL Rumors: Patriots asking price to move down is way lower than it should be

The New England Patriots currently hold the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. That’s their earliest pick since 1993 when they drafted Drew Bledsoe first overall. Turns out, if you’re the most dominant dynasty in the history of sports, then you’re not going to have the luxury of incredibly high-value and high-profile draft picks. Shocker.

It’s been 31 years since the Pats have had to make this kind of decision. Their front office is out of practice and it shows. On top of that, Bill Belichick was their general manager for the past 24 years and now that he’s gone. They’re rolling with Eliot Wolf as their de facto GM.

The Patriots might not totally comprehend the value of their first-round pick

These are the pieces of the equation: A new general manager, a top-five draft pick, no quarterback, and lots of potentially elite talent to pick from. They can’t possibly botch this, can they? Right?

Whoops. Yes, they can.

Let’s unpack that. That means the Patriots would end up with the No. 6 and No. 39 pick in the 2024 draft, then the New York Giants’ second-round picks in 2025 and 2026. The Giants would then have the third pick in 2024. If you’re the Giants, you take that offer faster than Kosmo Kramer.

Do you remember the NFL Draft in 2023 when the Houston Texans traded with the Arizona Cardinals for the third pick? The Cardinals received the Texans’ 2023 first-round pick (12th), 2023 second-round pick (33rd), 2024 first-round pick, and 2024 third-round pick. That’s a haul. 

It’s no surprise to anyone that the Patriots are thinking about trading back since it feels like that’s what they always do. You would just think that a franchise that is so used to trading back would be able to actually value their initial pick.

They’ve crumpled in the four years since their dynasty ended, and if this gross misevaluation of resources continues it’s going to be a whole lot longer until they see even a semblance of moderately sustained success. You love to see it.