The Patriots traded out of the fourth round, getting the Lions’ third-round pick in 2019. That’s six trades New England has made, drafting only three players thus far.
The Patriots took Georgia tackle Isaiah Wynn and Georgia running back Sony Michel in the first round and Florida cornerback Duke Dawson in the second.
“Getting extra picks for future years is something we’ve done [in the past],” Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio said Friday night, via Jeff Howe of The Athletic. “Given the options we had, we felt that was the best opportunity for us.”
If Bill Belichick is thinking about retirement, the Patriots coach sure hasn’t shown it with his moves in this draft. As Mike Reiss of ESPN pointed out, “Based on [Belichick’s] forward-thinking moves in this draft, there should be little question about his intentions for 2019, and beyond.”
As of right now, the Patriots have a fifth-rounder, three sixth-rounders and a seventh-rounder left in this draft. There are no guarantees they’ll hang onto all of those.
With the trades made in the past three days and projected compensatory picks, the Patriots will have 11 picks in 2019, via Reiss. That includes the Bears’ second-round pick and the Lions’ third-round pick, giving them two seconds and possibly three third-rounders with compensatory picks.