The New England Patriots were one of the biggest winners on Day 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft. They ended up trading their first-round pick, No. 14 overall, to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for No. 17 and a fourth-round pick, No. 120 overall.
It turned out to be an excellent deal for New England, who still had the player they were targeting fall into their lap. The Patriots had their sights set on Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who ended up sliding down the board a little bit.
He was the third cornerback off the board after Devon Witherspoon went No. 6 to the Seattle Seahawks and Emmanuel Forbes went the pick before him to the Washington Commanders. The Patriots were ecstatic about that as they got their guy and picked up an extra fourth-round pick in the progress.
Under Bill Belichick, the Patriots have always been known for wheeling and dealing during the draft. That has held true through Day 1 and New England is looking to get active again on Day 2.
According to Mike Giardi via MLFootball on Twitter, the Patriots are actively looking to move up in Round 2. A move up the board in Round 3 is also possible given how much draft capital they have stocked up on for Day 3.
“With the amount of draft capital they have, especially in round 4, they have the potential to make a decent leap in both rounds 2 and 3.”
As currently situated, the Patriots have four picks in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft after yesterday’s trade with the Steelers. That is more than enough ammunition for the team to be able to make some deals in the coming hours.
While cornerback was one of their most pressing needs, it was far from the only one for the Patriots. The offensive line is arguably the biggest need remaining in New England, but they may not need to move up based on the prospects remaining on the board.
If they want to add a tight end to replace Jonnu Smith after trading him to the Atlanta Falcons, Michael Mayer and Luke Musgrave are both still on the board and likely to go early in Round 2. Whether it is Mac Jones or someone else under center in 2023, the Patriots could use some more weapons offensively.
