Should Patriots Make This Hypothetical Bears Trade For No. 1 Pick?

The New England Patriots are expected to pick third in the upcoming NFL draft, which is the highest the club has had since drafting Richard Seymour with the sixth overall pick in 2001.

The Patriots have met with some potential draft picks, but does that mean New England will keep the No. 3 pick or try and trade up for the No.1?

According to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell the Bears and Patriots could find themselves as trade partners before the draft, but could the price be too steep for New England? And even if it isn’t, does it even make sense?

The hypothetical proposed trade between the Bears and Patriots would include New England’s Nos. 3 and 34 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft and 2025 first- and third-round picks.

A team like the Patriots, coming off their worst season since Bill Belichick became the head coach in 2000, may not necessarily want to draft a quarterback this season but instead, try and bring in a veteran signal-caller via free agency and build up their offensive weapons and line.

If the Patriots were to keep the No. 3 pick, they could select wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. or QB Jayden Daniels, using later picks to fill out their offensive line.

New England could also opt to keep the No. 3 draft for Harrison or Daniels and package together their third- and fourth-round picks for Bears quarterback Justin Fields.

Trading down this season instead of up, may benefit the Patriots more. It could give New England the opportunity to build the roster around a veteran quarterback before having to go out and get a franchise-changing arm like Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes.

It’s hard to know what route the Patriots will head, given the change in head coach and the offensive and defensive coordinators. It may take more than a season for anyone to understand the mindset of the powers that be in New England and how they plan to build their roster after the past two decades with Bill Belichick at the helm.