Patriots Linked to Huge Potential NFL Draft Trade

The New England Patriots sit in a compelling spot with their fourth-overall pick in this year's NFL Draft.

On one hand, the selection allows the Patriots a second-straight top-five pick to add another young, top-rated stud into the fold for next season and onwards, but on another, they could be just far enough out of reach to get their hands on either of this year's two blue-chip prospects on the table.

The clear goal is to leave the first night of the draft with a top name like Colorado's Travis Hunter or Penn State's Abdul Carter. But, with increasing chatter of the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants taking interest in each at picks two and three, the chances for New England to end up lucky seem to be getting slimmer and slimmer by the day.

And, if such a result happens, things could get crazy for New England.

When mapping out the Patriots' potential direction for this year's draft, ESPN insider Mike Reiss detailed an eye-catching outcome New England could invest in if Hunter and Carter are off the board: pondering a draft-day trade.

"Consider a trade," Reiss wrote. "'If somebody has an offer for us, I think we'd be willing to listen,' coach Mike Vrabel said, adding that the goal remains to come away with a 'premium' player and that he's open to a variety of possibilities if they help the team. Offensive lineman Will Campbell and defensive tackle Mason Graham are among those who have taken predraft visits to New England."

A draft trade-down scenario is nothing the Patriots haven't been accustomed to in past years, and especially in a year where there could be teams interested in trading up for a quarterback like Shedeur Sanders, moving off pick four could have its value.

However, it likely remains largely dependent on what type of return New England could get in exchange for their top-five pick, how many teams are interested in said asset, and most importantly, whether or not the Patriots could have their aspired prospect at a later pick.

It's an interesting direction to go, and if each of those three aspects aligns, the stage could be set for New England to truly take a deep look into the possibility. Yet, its interest in names like Campbell and Graham could take priority, depending on how highly the Patriots value each from their pre-draft evaluations.

New England undoubtedly needs to acquire talent in whichever way possible after two straight 4-13 campaigns, and in such an interesting class of prospects, this could be the year to focus on that opportunity to trade down. Clearly, the Patriots brass seems to be at least taking it into consideration.