Patriots Football Daily: Trading for Veteran WR Still in Play

One day away from the NFL Draft and the 2024 New England Patriots roster remains a mystery. Will they stay at No. 3 overall and select the top quarterback on their board? Will they trade down to add multiple first-round picks? How will they address their needs at wide receiver, offensive tackle, and beyond? While the draft prospects remain the focus, nobody should be ruling out New England trading for a veteran.

The two names to keep in mind are wide receivers Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals and Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers. Both have requested trades. Either would present an immediate upgrade for the New England offense. The task would be giving up enough in a trade to satisfy the team, while also agreeing to a new contract with the player.

This year’s wide receiver class in the draft looks extremely promising. But will anyone available to New England at No. 34 be as good as Brandon Aiyuk? Or would their third-round pick be as productive as Tee Higgins? Those draft picks would certainly be more cost-effective. Prospects also fit the “draft and develop” narrative preached by Eliot Wolf and the Patriots organization this offseason.

New England showed in free agency they were looking to upgrade their wide receiver position. Calvin Ridley ultimately signed elsewhere, but the Patriots offered significant money to a wideout who will turn 30 this December. Aiyuk and Higgins are more than three and four years younger than Ridley, respectively. All three have posted two 1,000-yard seasons in their NFL careers. The idea that New England would be interested in bringing in one of them to give their rookie quarterback a No. 1 target would make a lot of sense. Stay tuned.

Also in today’s Patriots Daily:

New England Patriots

Meet the newest New England Patriot: Mitchell Wilcox

How involved is Jonathan Kraft in the Patriots decision-making?

NFL Mock Drafts

New England Patriots Seven-Round Mock Draft

Dan Kelley’s Seven-Round 2024 NFL Mock Draft

New England’s Top 30 Visits

TCU tight end Jared Wiley

Houston Christian edge Jaylyx Hunt

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Football Fun Fact of the Day

The New England Patriots have never selected No. 3 overall in the NFL Draft. They have selected No. 34 twice, both on the defensive side of the ball.

In 1974 the Patriots selected North Dakota State linebacker Steve Nelson at 34. Nelson played his entire 14-year NFL career with the Patriots and is a member of the team’s Hall of Fame. His No. 57 is retired.

In 2008 New England took Oregon safety Patrick Chung in that same spot. He played 10 of his 11 NFL seasons with the Patriots, winning three Super Bowls along the way.

If the Patriots keep their second-round selection on Friday, they’d be happy to get similar results.

Post of the Day

Today’s post is from Daniel with possibly Patrick Chung’s greatest game in the NFL:

NE@MIA 10/4/10: Tom Brady’s 100th win and Randy Moss’ last game as a Patriot was all defense and STs. Rob Ninkovich had 2 INTs, Brandon Tate returned a kickoff for 6, Patrick Chung blocked a punt/FG and capped off a 35 point 2nd half onslaught with a pick 6 to beat MIA 41-14. pic.twitter.com/KjcNYnEPVE

— Daniel (@TheDTSB) September 16, 2023