3 significant NFL Draft-day trades in Patriots history
Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman were all involved in draft day trades.
Patriots fans have become accustomed to Bill Belichick’s active approach to trading picks during the NFL draft. Keeping track of all of the trades can be a difficult task. By the time the details of a Patriots trade are known, New England has sometimes already made another deal.
And even before Belichick was calling the shots in the team’s draft room, Patriots draft day trades occasionally achieved historic status.
Here’s a look at a few of the interesting deals that New England has done during the NFL draft.
1985: Jerry Rice
Technically, the Patriots could have picked the most productive wide receiver in NFL history. Jerry Rice was inexplicably available at the 16th overall pick in 1985. But the Patriots had no reason for taking Rice considering the team drafted Irving Fryar with the first overall pick a year earlier.
In came the call from the 49ers, who were interested in moving up to take Rice. San Francisco coach Bill Walsh explained the trade process in his book, “Building a Champion”:
At that point, Dick Steinberg of New England said they might be interested in our offer of our first and second-round picks for their first pick, sixteenth in the draft, and we agreed to discuss finalizing the trade the next day.
The next morning, as the draft proceeded, we reached agreement and found ourselves with New England’s pick, with which we immediately drafted Rice. Of all the picks we’ve made, this was the one that truly excited me because he’d made such a striking impression on me.
Rice went on to become an electrifying receiver who smashed every existing record at his position. The Patriots, meanwhile, took center Trevor Matich and defensive lineman Ben Thomas with the picks acquired from the 49ers. Neither had a tremendous impact.
2007: Randy Moss
After missing out on Rice, the Patriots were on the opposite side of the scenario more than two decades later. Randy Moss, who languished on a poorly managed Raiders team during the 2005 and 2006 seasons, was somehow deemed surplus to the requirements of Oakland’s rebuilding effort in 2007.
The Patriots, meanwhile, were armed with a slew of draft picks. Still, the Moss trade was a multi-layered move.
First, New England dealt its first round pick to — coincidentally — the 49ers, getting a 2008 first round pick in return as well as a 2007 fourth rounder.
The fourth round pick, 110th overall, was then shipped to Oakland in exchange for Moss. The Raiders used the pick on defensive back John Bowie, who barely played in the NFL.
Still, the trade wasn’t a total loss for everyone other than New England. The 49ers selected left tackle Joe Staley with what was formerly the Patriots’ pick. Staley has been a vital piece of San Francisco’s offensive line ever since, making six Pro Bowls.
2009-2010 Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski
Like the Moss trade, the acquisitions of Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski were multifaceted.
It began during the second day of the 2009 draft. Holding a third round pick (73rd overall), the Patriots traded it to the Jaguars for a 2009 seventh round pick (232nd overall) and 2010 second round pick. Belichick chose Edelman with his newly acquired seventh rounder.
What’s fascinating is what the Patriots did with the other pick in the deal (the 2010 second rounder). It ended up being the 44th overall choice in that year’s draft. Once again, the Raiders proved a willing trade partner, swapping second round picks (with New England throwing in a sixth round pick) to move up two spots.
And with the 42nd pick in the 2010 draft, Belichick chose Gronkowski. In one trade, the seeds were planted for two pillars of New England’s latest run of Super Bowls.
