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Patriots director of player personnel Matt Groh revealed New England considered trading up from pick No. 14 in the 2023 NFL Draft before it ultimately dropped down three spots at took Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
But that wasn't the only move up the board the Patriots debated Thursday night.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Friday reported the Patriots were among several teams that "looked into potentially trading into the late first round" as Day 1 of the draft wound down. The Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons also were part of that group, per Fowler's sources.
It's unclear which prospect New England would have targeted with such a trade, and whether that player(s) is still on the board. A number of projected Patriots fits were selected after Gonzalez went at No. 17, including wide receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Seahawks, No. 20), Quentin Johnston (Chargers, No. 21), Zay Flowers (Ravens, No. 22) and Jordan Addison (Vikings, No. 23), offensive tackle Anton Harrison (Jaguars, No. 27), edge rushers Myles Murphy (Bengals, No. 28) and Nolan Smith (Eagles, No. 30), and defensive tackle Bryan Bresee (Saints, No. 29).
The Patriots haven't traded up in Round 1 since 2012, when they made back-to-back moves for Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower, and never have traded into the first round during Bill Belichick's tenure. They have, however, been highly active in the trade-up market on Day 2.
New England traded up to take a player in the second round in each of the last five drafts (Tyquan Thornton, Christian Barmore, Josh Uche, Joejuan Williams and Duke Dawson) and enters Friday night armed with four fourth-round picks, four sixth-rounders and one seventh-rounder to use as currency. One of those fourths (No. 120 overall) was acquired from Pittsburgh in the trade-down for Gonzalez.
"I think we're the 15th pick here in the second round," Groh said in a video conference late Thursday night. "Having those fourth-round picks does give us a little bit of currency. We'll have to take a more in-depth look here in the morning. We'll regroup, take a look at some of these players that we've got, go through a couple different scenarios as a staff and do our best to plot it out."
The Patriots currently own pick No. 46 overall in Round 2 and No. 76 in Round 3. Potential trade-up targets include Syracuse offensive tackle Matthew Bergeron, Ohio State offensive tackle Dawand Jones, Georgia tight end Darnell Washington, Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer and North Carolina wide receiver Josh Downs.
