Get ready for a very busy Friday night, New England Patriots fans.
After trading out of the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Patriots enter Day 2 with an arsenal of picks and plenty of talented players still available.
Here are a few assorted musings on how New England might approach Rounds 2 and 3:
1. The Patriots currently own five total picks in the second (No. 37) and third rounds (Nos. 71, 87, 98, 100). While it’s unlikely they’ll select that many players Friday night, it wouldn’t be unprecedented.
In 2009, New England made multiple deals to trade out of the first round (moving from No. 23 to 26 and eventually to 41) before drafting a total of six players in the second and third.
That haul included four second-round picks (Patrick Chung, Ron Brace, Darius Butler and Sebastian Vollmer) and two third-rounders (Brandon Tate and Tyrone McKenzie). Chung and Vollmer both became long-term starters. The other four never panned out in New England.
“It’s not the same, but similar, I think I’d say, (to what) it was 2009,” Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio said in a video conference after Round 1. “Like we ended up making those four second-round picks together. That was the Chung year. We took Chung at the top of the second round. We ended up picking four players in the second round.
“It just gives us some flexibility. You can move around in the middle there a little bit. Late-round pick is a late-round pick. You look at them all together, you basically have 12 picks in five rounds, so we’ll see.”
The Patriots have drafted four total players in Rounds 2 and 3 five times since 2000, including last year (Joejuan Williams, Chase Winovich, Damien Harris, Yodny Cajuste).
More Patriots: Nick Caserio teases additional trades on Day 2
2. As Caserio noted, the Patriots have enough ammunition (13 picks in all, including seven in Rounds 2 through 4) to do pretty much whatever they want on Day 2.
If they’re eyeing a player they don’t believe will fall to No. 37 — Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet, perhaps, or maybe Alabama safety Xavier McKinney — they can send a modest package to Detroit to hop up to No. 35. The Matt Patricia- and Bob Quinn-led Lions have been a frequent Patriots trading partner in recent years.
The Patriots also could use their stash of third-rounders to acquire an additional second-round selection. Another way to accomplish this would be by trading left guard Joe Thuney.
It would not be surprising to see Bill Belichick flip one of those third-round choices for a 2021 second, either. The Patriots have acquired eight future picks in their last 10 drafts.
3. The two non-specialist positions that did not have a single player drafted in the first round happen to be two of New England’s biggest needs: tight end and safety.
Kmet and McKinney headline the prospect lists at those spots, respectively, but there’s a multitude of other intriguing options who could be in the Patriots’ crosshairs Friday night. If they pass on or can’t land Kmet, we like Dayton’s Adam Trautman, Florida Atlantic’s Harrison Bryant and UCLA’s Devin Asiasi as potential Day 2 targets.
At safety, keep an eye out for Minnesota’s Antoine Winfield Jr., Southern Illinois’ Jeremy Chinn, Cal’s Ashtyn Davis, Utah’s Terrell Burgess, Lenoir-Rhyne’s Kyle Dugger and LSU’s Grant Delpit. Belichick also likes to target surprise safeties in Rounds 2 and 3 (see: Tavon Wilson, Duron Harmon, Jordan Richards), so we could see an off-the-board pick like Iowa’s Geno Stone or Clemson’s K’Von Wallace here.
4. Will the Patriots draft a quarterback? That’ll be one of the biggest storylines Friday night.
Their decision to pass on the talented but interception-prone Jordan Love at No. 23 should be viewed as a vote of confidence in Jarrett Stidham, but they’re expected to fill that third spot on their depth chart at some point before this draft is over.
If they do so on Day 2, the most likely candidates are Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts, whose rushing ability could make him a versatile chess piece for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and Georgia’s Jake Fromm, who boasts every intangible in the book but lacks top-end physical traits.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport said earlier this week he believes the Patriots will draft a quarterback in the first three rounds.
