Patriots Draft History: Trading picks for players
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| Adding Corey Dillon set a precedent for the Patriots in trading draft picks for talented players |
Happy Friday, Pats fans! With the week winding down, I'm winding down my look back on the Patriots history of draft day trades. After looking back on their trades up the board on Wednesday, and trades down the board yesterday, it's time to review their history of using draft currency to acquire active players. Some of the Pats biggest and most high-profile acquisitions have come this way, with a few succeeding beyond their wildest dreams and a few big-time busts as well. Lets take a look back.
2000
The fun starts in 2000, with the unusual move of trading draft picks for a coach. After Bill Belichick infamously wrote "I resign as HC of the NYJ" on a piece of loose leaf paper and bolted to the Patriots, the Jets demanded compensation. Commisioner Paul Tagliabue agreed, noting that Belichick was still under contract for the Jets, and as a result the Patriots were essentially forced made a trade to bring in their coach. To land Belichick, the Pats sent the Jets a first (16), and 2001 fourth (101, Jamie Henderson) and seventh rounders (206, James Reed). They also received a 2001 fifth (149) and 2002 seventh rounder (234) in the transaction. The fifth rounder (Mike McMahon) was traded to the Lions, landing them sixth (180, Arthur Love) and seventh rounders (216, Owen Pochman), while the 2002 seventh round pick (Greg Scott) was included in the Pats trade up to select Daniel Graham 21st overall in 2002.
The Jets used the Patriots pick to trade up, packaging it with a second rounder (48, Jason Webster) to move up four spots to the 12th overall pick. There the Jets took DL Shaun Ellis, while the Niners used the Patriots original pick to take LB Julian Peterson at 16. It was part of a very busy draft day for the Jets, who wound up with four first rounders after landing two more picks (13, John Abraham and 27, Anthony Becht) from Tampa for WR Keyshawn Johnson. They used their own pick (18) to select Marshall QB Chad Pennington.
2002
It's easy to forget in hindsight, but one of the shocking things about the Patriots magical 2001 run is that they accomplished everything without the help of presumed top receiver Terry Glenn. With Belichick no longer willing to put up with Glenn's act, the receiver was traded to Green Bay for fourth rounders in 2002 and 2003. Both picks were put to tremendous use: the Pats picked DE Jarvis Green, a solid contributor for years on the defensive line, with the 126th pick in 2002, and they used the 2003 fourth (128, Bryant McNeal) to trade up to the 120th pick, where they selected CB Asante Samuel. A great haul for a player no longer in their plans.
2003
2003 saw the Patriots make multiple trades involving draft picks and active players, with all of them working in their favor. They started by sending S Tebuckey Jones to the Saints, landing third (78) and seventh round picks (239) in 2003 and a fourth rounder (113, Dexter Reid) in 2004. They made good use of both 2003 picks, finding a late round gem at 239 with LB Tully Banta-Cain and trading the third rounder (Wade Smith) to Miami for a 2004 second (56).
Their next move was trading OT Greg Robinson-Randle to Houston for a fifth round pick (154). They then traded down from that pick (Donnie Nickey) sending it to the Titans in exchange for fifth (164), sixth (201) and seventh rounders (243). This move is noteworthy because of who the Patriots landed with that 164th pick, long-time starting center Dan Koppen.
Finally, the Patriots went into training camp in 2003 without a prototypical nose tackle to man the middle of their preferred 3-4 defense. That abruptly changed in the middle of August when they sent a 2004 fourth rounder (104, acquired in a previous trade with the Redskins) to Chicago in exchange for massive nose tackle Ted Washington. Washington proved to be the final piece needed for a defense that dominated on the way to the franchise's second Super Bowl title in three years. The Bears wound up flipping that 104th pick to San Francisco, who used it on another nose tackle, Isaac Sopoaga.
2004
2004 only saw the Patriots make one trade, but it was doozy. Armed with an extra second round pick from last year's trade with Miami (56), the Patriots sent that pick to Cincinnati for disgruntled star RB Corey Dillon. Dillon was a badly needed shot in the arm for an anemic Patriots rushing attack, piling up 1,635 yards and 12 touchdowns on the way to the Pats third title in four years. The Bengals took S Madieu Williams with the 56th pick.
Lets quickly review how this fell into place. The Pats trade Tebuckey Jones for three picks. They then trade a third rounder from that bounty, turning it into a second the following year. They then turn that second into a superstar running back. There's a reason they make trades every year, people.
2005
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| Even Reche Caldwell burned Starks in 2005 |
Of course, you aren't going to make as many trades as the Pats typically do without having some duds in there, and the Patriots followed up the masterstroke of acquiring Dillon with a major stinker the following year. 2005 saw the Pats send third (95, Darryl Blackstock) and fifth round picks (168, Lance Mitchell) to Arizona in exchange for a fifth rounder (145) and CB Duane Starks, a former star whose age was rapidly catching up to him. It was truly difficult to watch Starks, a starter on the historic 2000 Ravens defense, get repeatedly burned up and down the field in 2005, his lone season with the team. The fifth rounder was included in a trade that landed a 2006 fourth round pick (106), which became HB Garrett Mills. You win some, you lose some. They lost this one.
2006
2006 is better known by most Pats fans as "the year they somehow won despite having no one at receiver." The Pats knew receiver was going to be hole going into that season, and one of their failed moves to fill it was trading a fifth rounder (152, DeMario Minter) to Cleveland for former second round pick WR Andre Davis. Davis was unable to live up to the expectations in Cleveland, and he only managed 9 catches for 190 yards in his one season in New England.
That wasn't the only failed move to land a pass catcher for Tom Brady this year. The Pats sent a 2007 fifth (165, Eric Frampton) to Oakland in exchange for WR Doug Gabriel, who proved to be a complete bust for New England in his lone season here.
Finally, the Patriots had a hole at receiver in the first place due to the losses of both David Givens and Deion Branch. Givens left as a free agent (and was very fortunate to get paid by the Titans before suffering a career-ending knee injury) but Branch was traded to Seattle after a prolonged contract dispute. Getting a first round pick (24) for Branch looks like highway robbery in hindsight, as Branch never came close to top receiver production with the Seahawks, but the Patriots wasted the pick on Miami S Brandon Meriweather.
2007
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| Safe to say adding these two worked out for the Pats |
Motivated by the failure to land reliable pass catchers for Brady the previous season, the Patriots went out in 2007 and made a pair of moves that changed the dynamic of the team's offense. This started with a ballsy (at the time) decision to send a second (60, Samson Setele) and seventh round pick (238, Abraham Wright) to Miami for slot receiver Wes Welker. At the time, many questioned whether that was too much to give up for a player with one career touchdown and no season of over 70 catches or 700 yards. Welker, of course, rewrote the team's record book in his six seasons with Brady, and is the franchise's all time leader is most major receiving statistics.
If that wasn't enough, the Pats made an even bigger splash on the second day of the draft, sending a fourth rounder (110, John Bowie) to the Raiders for WR Randy Moss. Arguably the best deep threat in NFL history, Moss's downfield presence perfectly complemented Welker's ability to work the underneath zones. The 2007 Patriots had an undefeated regular season on the strength of a record-setting offense, with Brady and Moss setting records for touchdowns in a season with 50 and 23 respectively.
After those moves, I'll forgive you if you find the Pats trading OT Brandon Gorin to Arizona for a sixth round pick (180, Justin Rogers) anticlimatic.
2009
After leading the Pats to an 11-5 season after Tom Brady went down with a torn ACL, there was a buzz growing about Matt Cassell's potential as a starter. The Pats managed to strike while the iron was hot, sending Cassell and aging LB Mike Vrabel to Kansas City in exchange for the 34th pick in the draft. The Pats got tremendous value here, as Vrabel was close to the end and Cassell proved to be something less than a franchise QB in Kansas City, but they surely wish they'd put the pick to better use than selecting Oregon safety Patrick Chung, an oversight that especially stings because Jairus Byrd was taken only eight picks later. Another interesting name on the board? Lesean McCoy, who somehow lasted to the 53rd pick after getting passed up by the Pats three times for the likes of Chung, Darius Butler, and Ron Brace. Not a good year for the Patriots drafting-wise, although they did at least land Sebastien Vollmer with the last of their four second round picks.
They made one more player trade in this draft, sending CB Ellis Hobbs to the Eagles for two fifth round picks. Those two picks (137, Jason Philips and 141, Kenny McKinley) were sent to Baltimore for a fourth (123, Rich Ohrnberger) and sixth round pick (198, Jake Ingram).
Finally, the Pats made one more deal with the Eagles, sending a fifth rounder (159, Fenuki Tupuo) to them for WR Greg Lewis and a seventh round pick (231). The speedy Lewis never made much of an impact in Foxborough, while the seventh round pick was traded in a deal that landed OL Thomas Welch.
2010
2010 was arguably the Pats busiest draft trade-wise, and trading players was no exception. The action started with the Pats sending DL LeKevin Smith and that 231st pick acquired in the Greg Lewis deal to Denver in exchange for a fifth round pick (158). They then packaged that fifth rounder with a third rounder (85) and traded the picks to Oakland in exchange for DE Derrick Burgess, who proved to be past his prime in New England. In a rare won trade for Oakland, they then flipped that third rounder (85, Colt McCoy) to the Browns for DE Kamerion Wimbley. The fifth rounder also got dealt to New Orleans, who used it on BC center Matt Tennant.
The Pats weren't done wheeling and dealing, sending OL Russ Hochstein to Denver in exchange for...the 231st pick they had just sent them in the LeKevin Smith deal. They then traded the 231st pick one last time, packaging it with another seventh (229, Eric Cook) and sending it to Washington in order to move up to the top pick of the seventh round and take OL Thomas Welch. The 231st pick, which had become the Ross Ventrone of draft picks, was finally used by Washington on OL Selvish Capers.
The Patriots added veteran LB/special teams contributor Tracy White from the Eagles, sending them a 2012 sixth rounder (200, Brandon Washington) and receiving a 2012 seventh (223). The seventh rounder was included in the following year's in-season trade of Randy Moss to Minnesota.
Finally, the Pats sent a fifth rounder (153) to the Buccaneers for TE Alex Smith. Smith was made irrelevant by the emergence of two rookie tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, and he never played a regular season game with the Pats. The draft pick was eventually traded to Jacksonville, who used it on OL Austen Lane.
2011
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| The Pats picked the right time to sell high on Seymour |
2011 saw three deals made during the 2010 regular season play out. They had traded Randy Moss, who had become disgruntled over his contract, along with a seventh round pick (223) to the Vikings in exchanged for a third rounder (74), a deal that looks even more amazing when you consider that the Pats gave up less to acquire Moss (a fourth rounder in 2007) than they got in return for him. They spent that third rounder on QB Ryan Mallett, likely hoping they could develop him and sell him off later for a higher pick. Unfortunately for them, Mallett's development has been slower than expected, and it looks highly unlikely that they could land anything more than a late round pick for him. Still a worthwhile gamble, considering Mallett's talent had some thinking he was the best quarterback in the draft.
Another incredible deal from the 2010 regular season was the Pats somehow managing to flip RB Laurence Maroney (along with a sixth rounder) to Denver for a fourth round pick. The Pats then immediately flipped that pick (99) to Seattle, reacquiring WR Deion Branch to help fill the void left by the Moss trade. Reunited with his old friend Brady, Branch had a productive year, while Maroney was out of the league following an abysmal year in Denver. Seattle did pretty well in the deal themselves, landing productive LB KJ Wright with the 99th pick.
Finally, the Pats made a pair of late-round deals that never really amounted to much: sending a seventh round pick (230, Cliff Matthews) to Atlanta for OL Quin Ojinnaka and another seventh (238, Junior Hemmingway) to Kansas City for S Jarrad Page.
2012
2012 saw the bill start to come in for a pair of failed August acquisitions. The Pats had sent a fifth rounder in 2012 and sixth rounder in 2013 to Cincinnati in exchange for receiver Chad Ochocinco, who memorably flopped in his one year in New England, reportedly due to his inability to master the playbook. Cincinnati did well with the fifth rounder (166), finding a productive receiver in Marvin Jones, and they used the 2013 sixth rounder (197) on another receiver, Cobi Hamilton.
2013
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| Blount only played one year in NE, but it was a good year |
The Pats also had the bill come up for 2012's in-season trade for CB Aqib Talib. Talib obviously proved to be a great addition and he only cost a fourth round pick (126, William Gholston). The Pats also netted a seventh round pick (226) in the deal, which they used on intriguing DE prospect Michael Buchanan.
The Haynesworth, Ochocinco and Talib trades had cost the Pats three middle round picks (net loss of two picks) in 2013, but the Pats reloaded their draft board with a trade out of the first round, landing second, third, fourth and seventh round picks in the process. They then flipped that seventh rounder (229, Everette Dawkins), packaging it with KR Jeff Demps and sending it to Tampa Bay for RB LeGarrette Blount. Blount had a nice season in 2013, including a strong finishing stretch, and parlayed that success into a two year deal with the Steelers this offseason. Still, 772 yards and 7 touchdowns is a tremendous return for a seventh round pick.
2014
The 2014 draft is still several weeks away, but the Pats have already payed up for yet another in-season trade in 2013. Trading a fifth round pick (169) to the Eagles for DT Isaac Sopoaga seemed like a good idea at the time; the Pats had a glaring need at DT following injuries to Vince Wilfork and Tommy Kelly, and Sopoaga was a proven veteran available for a relatively low cost. However, his tank appeared to be running on empty in New England, and previously unknown Sealver Siliga had leapfrogged the veteran for reps by the end of the year. Sopoaga was cut for cap savings this past month, merely hours before the Patriots reached their agreement with CB Darrelle Revis.
As for the Eagles, they've already made out like bandits in this deal, as they sent the fifth round pick to New Orleans in exchange for RB Darren Sproles. Sproles should be a dynamic fit in Chip Kelly's explosive offense, and his return ability should help the Eagles offset the loss of Desean Jackson.
