By Anthony Cardone
The G.O.A.T.
When you hear that term in football, there’s only one man everyone thinks of: Tom Brady. Brady has accomplished things in this sport no one imagined could be done. Breaking in at the turn of the century, Brady has been like a god in New England. Even though Brady has shown no signs of stopping or slowing down, everyone has to retire at some point, and last week the Patriots made a step that could be going in that direction.
The Patriots made a surprising move the other day by trading their top receiver Brandin Cooks to the Los Angeles Rams for their first round pick. That gives the Pats the 23rd overall pick.
On the other side of the trade, the Rams get a top-flight receiver to top off an amazing offseason. After acquiring Cooks, cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, the Rams are stacked and in the thick of the Super Bowl hunt.
Now, it’s not certain the Patriots are taking a quarterback with this pick. However, they have had some workouts with a few of the quarterbacks in this draft. While every team does their due diligence, the Patriots are understandably under a microscope when it comes to the quarterback position.
If they don’t trade up, then New England isn’t going to get a top-flight quarterback like Josh Rosen, Josh Allen or Sam Darnold. However, there could be value in guys that should be avaialbe in the mid-20s, like Mason Rudolph, Lamar Jackson or Luke Falk.
There are always quarterbacks that could be potentially great, just like that guy who was drafted in the sixth round at 199th overall. Bill Belichick always has something up his sleeve, and so the general paranoia that he is up to something with these trades is well-founded. He knows how to scout players, and since his team always does well, he never gets a high pick in the draft. By trading up in the draft, there is definitely someone Belichick and the Patriots have their eyes on.
Who knows, they could trade even higher up if they really want someone.
Alternatively, they may be searching for someone to replace top guard Nate Solder or receiver Danny Amendola, who both left in free agency. They may be especially in the hunt for a wide receiver, considering the aforementioned Cooks trade. Either way, there is a lot of talent in this draft at those positions as well.
That is why this trade is so shocking. Not only because Cooks is such a big name and one of the top receivers in the league, but also because the Patriots have so many spots that they can choose to fill with this pick. The world is just waiting to find out who they’re looking at.
With the draft only a little over two weeks away, every day we will get a little closer and see what the Patriots are thinking. Do they take someone that can help them win now? Or do they look into the future and beyond the Greatest of All Time?
