History Shows What Patriots Could Receive In Trade For No. 1 Pick

The top pick in the NFL draft has been traded 13 times since the league’s merger more than five decades ago.

The New England Patriots could soon represent No. 14.

New England finds itself in an advantageous position entering its season finale against the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots currently hold the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and a loss at Gillette Stadium on Sunday would mean the organization earns the top selection.

Since the Patriots have franchise quarterback Drake Maye, there’s reason to believe New England will trade No. 1 to a quarterback-needy team. New England would acquire more draft capital in that scenario.

But what might a trade look like? While no two trades are the same — especially since some draft evaluators don’t view the 2025 quarterback class as highly as those in the past — we do have past trades to look back on.

Here are the three times it’s happened this century:

2023: Chicago Bears trade No. 1 to Carolina Panthers
This is the most recent example, and therefore will be included in numerous comparisons as we inch closer to April’s draft.

Carolina acquired the No. 1 pick from Chicago and drafted quarterback Bryce Young. At the time, Chicago didn’t feel it needed a quarterback and opted to stick with Justin Fields. The Bears landed a one-player, four-pick haul from the Panthers, who held the No. 9 pick. It included wide receiver DJ Moore, Carolina’s 2023 first-round pick (OT Darnell Wright), Carolina’s 2023 second-round pick (CB Tyrique Stevenson) and Carolina’s 2024 first-round pick (QB Caleb Williams). Chicago owns Carolina’s second-round pick in 2025, too.

The Bears did some other maneuvering following their trade with the Panthers, trading back from No. 9 to No. 10. They selected Wright at No. 10 and added Philadelphia’s 2024 fourth-rounder (P Tory Taylor). All in all, the No. 1 spot sprouted into one player and five picks.

2016: Tennessee Titans trade No. 1 to Los Angeles Rams
Similar to the previous example, and the situation the Patriots are in, the Titans landed the top pick one year after they drafted quarterback Marcus Mariota second overall. They didn’t need to address the QB position.

The Rams acquired No. 1 from the Titans and drafted quarterback Jared Goff. LA also acquired a 2016 fourth-rounder and sixth-rounder in the deal. Meanwhile, Tennessee received LA’s 2016 first-round pick (WR Corey Coleman), two second-round picks in 2016 (DT Austin Johnson, RB Derrick Henry), a 2016 third-rounder (OT Shon Coleman) as well as a 2017 first-round pick (No. 5, WR Corey Davis) and 2017 third-round pick (TE Jonnu Smith).

All in all, the Titans received six Day 1 and Day 2 picks for No. 1 and two Day 3 selections.

2001: San Diego Chargers trade No. 1 to Atlanta Falcons
The Chargers landed the No. 1 pick a few years after they selected quarterback Ryan Leaf second overall in the 1998 NFL Draft.

The Falcons acquired the top selection and drafted quarterback Michael Vick. In doing so, San Diego acquired one player and three picks, which included wide receiver Tim Dwight, 2001 first-round pick (No. 5, RB LaDainian Tomlinson), a 2001 third-round pick and a 2002 second-round pick.

You can check out all 13 trades involving the No. 1 pick here.

We’ll see if the Patriots are able to land the top pick Sunday, but any trade for No. 1 likely won’t come until the spring.