NFL Draft Expert Has Patriots Trading Down, Taking This Player In Round 1

So, what will the Patriots do with the No. 23 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft?

Will they draft Tom Brady’s replacement? Target a wide receiver? Finally address tight end? Fortify the offensive line?

According to one draft expert, the answer is none of those things.

NFL.com’s Chat Reuter believes Bill Belichick will execute a trade with the Green Bay Packers to swap picks 23 and 30. At the 30 spot, Reuter predicts New England will target TCU defensive tackle Ross Blacklock.

From Reuter:

The Patriots swap first-rounders with the Packers and add third- and sixth-round picks in this move. My guess is that New England will then use its bevy of picks to move up in the second or third rounds — or they might trade some combination of their (now) five selections between Nos. 87 and 125 for 2021 second- and third-rounders. Meanwhile, the Pats land a versatile defensive lineman here with real potential as an outside/inside force.

This hardly would be a surprising outcome, considering Belichick’s penchant for executing draft-day trades to accrue assets. The Patriots also are brutally thin on the interior defensive line, and any reinforcements would help.

For what it’s worth, Reuter also believes the Patriots will select both Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts and Missouri tight end Albert Okwuegbunam in the third round.

The all-virtual NFL draft is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday.

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