Should the New England Patriots, or any other team, want to trade down in the 2022 NFL Draft, reports are indicating they may have some trouble finding a partner.
"I think it's going to be really hard to trade down. Because after I think you get past 12 or 13, it flattens out and the difference between 14 and 44 isn't very big," NFL reporter Albert Breer said during "Sports Sunday" on NBC Sports Boston. "No one is going to want to move up. And that's a huge issue."
The Patriots currently own the No. 21 overall selection, their first of eight picks.
"I've talked to teams that are picking both at the top of the first round and the second round and instead of them calling teams at the top of the first round and asking to move up they're calling saying, 'Hey, if you want to move from the bottom of the second round into the first round, come and call us,'" Breer continued. "So most of the movement you're hearing now -- because this isn't a great draft and really the meat of the draft class is in the second and third round -- is teams looking to move down not up."
ESPN's Adam Schefter said much of the same Monday morning.
"Within the past week, as the draft has drawn closer, multiple teams in the top half of the draft have inquired with others to try and trade back in the first round," Schefter tweeted, citing sources. "So far, the interest in moving back in Thursday's draft has greatly exceeded the interest in moving up."
The rather obvious benefit of trading back is a team can gather more assets in a draft that has been praised for its depth rather than high-end talent. The lack of a can't-miss quarterback certainly has played a role in a carousel at the top of the draft, best depicted as the No. 1 overall pick isn't set in stone with the betting odds changing again Monday.
Still, there remains the belief that Bill Belichick could figure out a way to trade down as ESPN's Patriots reporter Mike Reiss hypothesized New England to do just that in his Sunday notes column. NESN.com's Zack Cox did the same in his most recent mock draft while Peter King, on the other hand, has the Patriots selecting an offensive tackle at No. 21 rather than moving back.
The 2022 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET.
