Will the New England Patriots trade up in this year’s NFL Draft?

The New England Patriots won’t have a first round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft following on from commissioner Roger Goodell’s decision over the ‘Deflategate’ scandal.
However, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Bill Belichick make a few moves during the NFL Draft as the Patriots look to move into the opening round. After all, their current first pick is the 60th overall and many of the top prospects will already be off the board by that point. But that isn’t to say that the Patriots won’t move around the order throughout the entire draft process – and here’s why.
Ultimately, Belichick, who is always willing to offer help and support to his colleagues, is the best coach in the National Football League and the Patriots have been reaping rewards from his intelligence and boldness since he joined the franchise in 2000.
He has led the Patriots to all four of their Super Bowl titles and has a unique knack for getting his draft strategy spot on. In fact, he very rarely gets anything wrong and New England’s picks in recent years have all contributed to their success in one way or another. In fact, their young stars were perhaps the main reason for their Super Bowl success in 2015.
At the time of writing, the Patriots may not have a first round pick but they do have four of the first 96 picks and that gives Belichick plenty of leverage if they want to move back up into the first round.
New England, as of April 27th, are one of the leading contenders for the Super Bowl this season and are priced at 9/1 in the Bet365 NFL betting odds to achieve their ultimate goal. Another first-round pick – most probably on defence – will do no harm to their chances, even if they have to sacrifice two of their other early picks.

And if anyone can exploit the rest of the NFL, it’s Belichick. He has been there and done it all before and his nous gives him an edge over the younger, less experienced head coaches in the division.
The Patriots have plenty to thank Belichick for and, while he isn’t getting any younger, New England will continue to succeed with his influence for the foreseeable future. However, one key incident earlier this week may influence Belichick’s thinking and could have an adverse effect on New England’s preparation and planning ahead of this week’s draft.
Tom Brady has been handed a four-game suspension for his role in the Deflategate scandal and the Patriots may be tempted to draft a quarterback as cover for Jimmy Garoppolo. While they don’t need somebody to come in and take over the mantle, they need a signal caller capable of learning the ropes and able to act as a backup if required.

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New England won’t necessarily trade up into the first round for a quarterback but it wouldn’t be a major surprise to see Belichick bring somebody in – especially as Brady is now approaching 40 years of age. If nothing else, one thing’s for sure, there’s always a drama with the New England Patriots and this year’s draft will be no different.