#PostPulpit Mailbag: What is the ideal trade-down scenario for New England?

The latest edition of our Patriots mailbag answers questions about draft trades, the new kickoff rule, and more. 

The NFL Draft is officially less than three weeks away as the New England Patriots begin their final stages of the pre-draft process with 30 visits.

So, with all avenues still open to them, let’s explore draft day trade scenarios and more in this week’s #PostPulpit mailbag.

Big IF, but if they trade down what’s the ideal spot and return to move down too? – Mike

The expectation remains that the Patriots will stick and pick at No. 3. But, if they are perhaps not ultimately sold on the available quarterbacks the door remains open for a move down. According to Jerod Mayo, that would take multiple first-round picks (and likely more), or “a bag”.

“I know everyone likes to think they have the special formula to picking players but honestly the guaranteed way to win is to accumulate more picks,” Mayo said at the NFL Annual Meetings. “So if we don’t feel convicted at No. 3, to your point, we are willing to do that as well.”

Many look towards the Minnesota Vikings as trade partners due to their need for a quarterback and draft capital that features two first-round selections in this draft (No. 11 & 23). But, moving all the way down to 11 would likely leave the Patriots missing out on the blue-chip offensive prospects in this class — unless they opt to move back up the board using the No. 11 overall pick.

A trade back to No. 6 with the New York Giants could be an ideal option for New England. They would then still likely have their choice between offensive tackle Joe Alt and wide receivers Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze along with the additional capital received.

@MearMusings It seems like everyone else in our division is lacking on day 2/3 picks. What do you think the likelyhood that either the Bills or Fins will let us trade up into the 1st. If low what other teams should the Pats be calling to trade up from 34

A move likely move for the Patriots to acquire another first-round selection is to move up from pick No. 34. I’m not sure how interested division rivals would be in this case, however, as Miami sits all the way at No. 21 and Buffalo created a larger hole at receiver this week with the trade of Stefon Diggs.

Looking at potential move-up options, the trade value chart from Pats Pulpit’s own Rich Hill has the 34th overall pick valued at 175 points. Adding additional capital on to that would leave potential trade up scenarios as follows:

• Pick No. 34 and No. 68 (248 total points) to Minnesota for No. 23 (245)
• Pick No. 34 and No. 103 (208) to Detroit for No. 29 (202)
• Pick No. 34, No. 68 and No. 103 (281) to Los Angeles Rams for No. 19 (278)

One other minor option if they wanted to jump Carolina and Kansas City for a wide receiver: No. 34 and No. 137 (191) to San Francisco for No. 31 (190).

@DocComa1 Do teams talk picks before the draft? For example, will the Pats call Wash and ask them who they’re taking to get an idea beforehand who they’ll take? Will Wash answer?

While they may not giveaway picks in advance, teams certainly have understandings of other teams’ boards. Just last year the Patriots were confident the Commanders would take cornerback Emmanuel Forbes, for example, which allowed them to move down two slots and still get Christian Gonzalez.

@neilario Personally I am interested in more in depth information about the coaches. Who is the qb coach? Background? Wr coach? Background? You can draft a top guy But the key is Who will be developing them

It’s an interesting question as where these prospects land is such a big part of what allows them to reach their maximum potential. Here’s what the Patriots are working at at their top three positions of need:

T.C. McCartney (QB Coach): McCartney will join offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt as having a big hand in grooming New England’s next quarterback. A former backup QB at LSU himself but only has one year of experience coaching QB’s with the Denver Broncos back in 2019. He has held numerous offensive assistant roles with various organizations.

Tyler Hughes (WR Coach): An offensive assistant with New England from 2020-22, Hughes spent last year with the Washington Huskies before returning as the team’s wide receivers coach. A college receiver himself, Hughes’ only NFL coaching stop was with New England as the majority of his experience comes from the high school and college level.

Tiquan Underwood (Assistant WR Coach): Joining Hughes will be the former Patriots wide receiver. Underwood is an exciting add to the room as a rising young coach who may be able to focus more of his work with players on technique and details of the position.

Scott Peters (Offensive Line Coach): An eight-year NFL lineman, Peters has worked behind highly-touted offensive line coach Bill Callahan in Cleveland. He’ll now get a chance to run his own room with his extensive martial arts background (he won two Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world championships in submission grappling).

Robert Kugler (Assistant offensive line coach): A college center who started 43 games at Purdue, the 31-year old Kugler has spent the last two years working with the Panthers offensive line. He’ll now assist Peters in New England.

Michael McCarthy (Offensive assistant/quality control): McCarthy’s title is centered on the offensive line, but he spent the past five seasons at Brown as the team’s offensive line coach. He’ll likely play a large role in the trenches among other responsibilities.

Thoughts on the new kickoff rule? – TJ

It will certainly look weird at first, but I’m a fan. The kickoff play was basically extinct as New England returned just 18 last season. This rule should certainly increase the amount of returns league wide and bring some excitement back to the play.

The door is also open for some interesting schematic wrinkles with the play as it now resembles more of a run play than a traditional straight-line return. Teams may prioritize vision and quick burst over top-end speed and coaches could even use pullers or other run blocking schemes.

The chances for reverses and laterals also are increased, so it will be fun to see how each team puts their own spin on it. We likely will see plenty of practice reps from special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer and Jerod Mayo during OTAs and training camp.

@mikethebrucefan What are your thoughts on not hiring vrabel over mayo ….i like mayo but we had an experienced coach in vrabel gift wrapped for us ….i would have went with vrabel …he has experience he’s a winner … he knows the pats

The Patriots were going Jerod Mayo. They worked the succession clause into his last contract to set the stage for him to be their next head coach.

Where I would have liked to see Vrabel was in a President of Football Operations type role to help oversee everything. Sounds very similar to what he was recently hired to do in Cleveland as a Coaching and Personnel Consultant.

That’s all for this week’s #PostPulpit mailbag. If you have questions you’d liked to be answered next week, submit them on Twitter using #PostPulpit. Make sure to be following @iambrianhines and @PatsPulpit as well.