Get ready for more trades from the New England Patriots on Day 2 of the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Patriots already traded once during the draft, sending their first-round pick to the Los Angeles Chargers for the 37th and 71st overall picks. The Patriots now have five picks on Day 2 of the draft, yet director of player personnel Nick Caserio said early Friday morning in a video conference call that he’s sure the team will pick “a player … or two … or three” on Friday night.
Hmm. Caserio did intimate the Patriots could make more moves on Day 2.
“Just gives you a little flexibility to maybe maneuver around in the middle there a little bit,” he said. “The late-round picks are the late-round picks. So, when you look at them all together, when you take the seventh, you basically have 12 picks in four rounds or five rounds. We’ll see.
“We’re going to look at what’s left and then kind of recalibrate, move around a little bit. We certainly have the ammunition and flexibility to do so. Like most picks and/or trades, it’s all player-driven. So, if there’s a player like you feel like you have to move to get then you go ahead and do it. We’ll see how it all goes. I’d expect us to pick maybe a handful of players (Friday).”
The Patriots still could trade left guard Joe Thuney, who’s currently on the franchise tag. They also could wind up trading one of their Day 2 picks for a 2021 draft pick.
The Patriots have plenty of options with their five Day 2 picks and eight Day 3 picks. They have a second-round pick, four third-round picks, two fourth-round selections, a fifth-rounder, four sixths and a seventh. It seems unlikely they’ll add 13 players in the draft over the next two days.
