‘I bet Belichick enjoyed messing with the Jets’: The best reactions to the Patriots’ Day 1 draft trade
The Patriots' trade with the Steelers allowed Pittsburgh to jump ahead of the Jets and pick an offensive tackle New York appeared to be interested in.
The Patriots were lauded by experts following Day 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft, not only because of the team’s eventual pick, but also the impact it appeared to have on an AFC East rival.
Entering the start of the draft, Bill Belichick and Patriots management mulled over what to do with the 14th overall pick. The Jets, suddenly appearing to be a team on the rise following the formal completion of the trade with the Packers to acquire quarterback Aaron Rodgers, held the 15th pick (having swapped first-round choices with Green Bay as part of the deal).
As the draft began and the pieces began to take shape, it was clear that several potential good players would be in range for New England. And as the 14th pick approached, the Patriots not only had one of the top rated cornerbacks (Christian Gonzalez) still available, but also the final remaining offensive tackle to have a high grade (Broderick Jones).
But as has become a staple of Belichick’s approach to the draft over the years, the Patriots decided to try and leverage the situation by trading back. New England worked out a deal with the Steelers, moving from 14th pick to 17th, adding a fourth-round pick from Pittsburgh in the process.
In doing so, the Patriots were still eventually able to land Gonzalez, a talented player who experts were surprised was still available at that point in the draft, but also let the Steelers pick Jones.
This was impactful because Jones was reportedly who the Jets were very interested in. Suddenly, New York was scrambling to make an alternative pick.
As observers noted, it appeared to be a double-victory for Belichick and the Patriots.
“Oh my leave [it] to Belichick to stick it to Jets as usual and Steelers take Broderick Jones,” noted former Jets scout Connie Carberg.
“Screwed by [New England], who bailed out of 14 so [Pittsburgh] could draft OT Jones,” wrote ESPN Jets reporter Rich Cimini in post-round thoughts.
The competition is already on between Belichick and New York’s new quarterback, according to Steve Serby of the New York Post.
“Bill Belichick wasted little time conspiring against Aaron Rodgers,” he noted.
Among reactions from Steelers media, there was amusement amid celebrating a pick that (like Gonzalez) has been viewed positively.
“Actually, come to think of it, I bet Belichick enjoyed messing with the Jets so much, the Patriots should’ve given Pittsburgh a fourth-rounder,” wrote Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Officially, the Patriots did not acknowledge the move as a direct attempt to undermine a division rival, though as MassLive’s Nick O’Malley identified, New England director of player personnel Matt Groh appeared to smirk when asked about it.
“We keep tabs on all the teams, not just our division rivals,” said Groh in his actual response. “With the trade that transpired here this week, the Jets going from right in front of us to right behind us certainly shifted things. Then for us to kind of jump right back behind them and give Pittsburgh the opportunity to come up and select a player who they selected, which when you make these trades you don’t know who the other team is coming up for. But again, we try to do our research and try to have a feeling as far as positionally what a team might be looking for.
“That’s Steve Cargile and his team really working hard on the team’s needs. We’ve got all that posted right there in the draft room and try to be cognizant of what the teams are looking for,” Groh continued. “So maybe [we] had an idea of what Pittsburgh was looking for. Certainly, didn’t know if that was going to be accurate. Certainly, didn’t know what player it was going to be. But there started to be a little bit of a run there on the tackles. That position group was thinning out. If you wanted one of those guys, you’d have to come up and get him.”
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