Analyst Provides Patriots Draft Trade Back Scenario

The New England Patriots have been wheeling-and-dealing all offseason long. They refurbished their defense by adding several stars such as Milton Williams, Carlton Davis and Harold Landry. They also added right tackle Morgan Moses, but they were missing another piece - a go-to wide receiver.

The Patriots missed out on Tee Higgins, who re-signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. Future Hall of Famer Davante Adams also signed elsewhere, going to the Los Angeles Rams. The Patriots were also reported to be interested in trading for San Francisco 49ers star Brandon Aiyuk dating back to last offseason, but that never came to fruition.

However, the Patriots did finally land a go-to receiver by signing Stefon Diggs. The All-Pro receiver immediately becomes Drake Maye's number one target, but he is also aging and coming off a torn ACL.

With the NFL Draft less than a month away, the Patriots will all but certainly add another body to their receiving corps. Will they do it at No. 4 overall in the form of Travis Hunter or perhaps even Tetairoa McMillan, or will they go a different route?

Moe Moton of Bleacher Report believes the Patriots should trade down, get more draft capital, and take a star receiver after moving back in the draft.

"Trade back into the first round for Emeka Egbuka, because Stefon Diggs is 31 years old and may need time to bounce back into full strength from a torn ACL," Moton writes.

Egbuka helped the Ohio State Buckeyes win the College Football National Championship in the 2024 season. He had 81 receptions for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns along the way while establishing himself as one of the projected top wideouts taken in the upcoming draft.

Moving back for a guy like Egbuka is something that hasn't been discussed a ton in media circles, but it would certainly benefit New England.

Gaining additional draft capital from a team likely trading up for a quarterback would also allow the Patriots to find a new left tackle as well as a receiver like Egbuka. Should an offer come their way to do so, it feels like a no-brainer.