Pats Trade Down, Stockpile Draft Picks

In the NFL Draft on Saturday, the Patriots took the route of a team searching for an identity, trying to fill numerous open roster spots. Rather than keeping the 23rd pick they had possession of, they traded down twice in order to stockpile some young rookies. However, the Patriots are not a rebuilding team, and do not have several open roster spots, so why did they trade down at all? And why did they have 13 picks in the top 100? The most sensible reason for the trade happy Patriots removing themselves from the first round was simply the talent left on the board at the time, and how they would fit in the Pats' system. Belichick admitted there was not enough talent for the pick they had in the first round. The second round was where the Patriots finally added some new faces to the team. With the second pick in the 2nd round, the Pats selected the top rated strong safety in the draft, Patrick Chung, from the University of Oregon. They also added Boston College nose tackle Ron Brace, UConn corner Darius Butler, and Sebastian Vollmer, an offensive lineman from Houston. Only time will tell if the Pats made the right decision in trading down, as their arch rival Miami Dolphins added Vontae Davis, a very talented defensive back from Illinois with the 25th pick. The Pats had a chance to draft him with the 23rd pick, instead, Davis will be trying to slow down the pass happy AFC East. Some other highlights from the draft were the Lions taking Matt Stafford as their next franchise quarterback with the first pick, as well as the Jets selection of USC star Mark Sanchez. The Jets traded all the way up to the 5th pick to get their hands on Sanchez. Once again the Oakland Raiders were the laughing stock of the draft as they passed on Michael Crabtree, the top receiver in this year's draft in order to take Darrius Heyward Bey from Maryland, a player who was a late 1st round projection. Hopefully as always, in Belichick we can trust, and the Patriots will get the maximum amount of talent out of the new faces in New England.