Heading into Week 18, the Patriots are in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
If they lose on Sunday to the Bills (13-3), they will have the right to select first overall for the first time since 1993 - a draft that saw them select quarterback Drew Bledsoe out of Washington State.
Let’s assume, for a second, that the Patriots do everything in their power to put themselves in a position to make a win difficult on Sunday. Let’s assume they rest their starters, and let’s assume that includes starting quarterback Drake Maye.
And let’s go a step further, and say Buffalo’s back-ups come out and get the job done against New England’s back-ups, handing the Patriots a historic seventh-straight loss on the season.
If all these assumptions come to fruition: congratulations, Pats fans. You’re picking No. 1!
…what now?
WEEI’s Chris Scheim believes the Patriots need to get the most bang for their buck, and trade down from their top spot.
“Right now, for me, I want them to trade down - probably to about four or five - and get Kelvin Banks, the offensive tackle out of the University of Texas,” said Scheim on Tuesday’s edition of The Greg Hill Show.
“This kid is 6-foot-4, 320 pounds. He has the size, in my opinion. He has the length. He’s only 20-years-old, but he has played three years at left tackle for Texas. Like, he has been awesome. He’s great. This is the guy I want on my football team to anchor my offensive line and to protect my most valuable asset in Drake Maye.
“And then by trading down from one to four or five, or even six, I guess, is probably in that range - but I don’t think Carolina is going to come up to you, because they’re probably going to run it back with Bryce Young. So I’m thinking four is probably realistic with the Giants right now at this spot, and then you get a bunch of draft picks on top of getting Kelvin Banks.”
So in Scheim’s world, the Patriots are drafting their franchise left tackle fourth overall, attempting to solidify an offensive line that was among the worst units in the NFL in 2024. With Maye being as mobile as he is, this is obviously sound logic.
And with the Giants in desperate need of a quarterback, it makes sense that they would be willing to move up to pick either Shedeur Sanders from Colorado or Cam Ward from Miami.
But in trading down from No. 1, what’s that return look like?
“Say it’s the Giants at four,” said Scheim. “I want next year’s first, plus a couple mid-round picks. So probably, like, a [third round pick] and a [fifth round pick], I think. A one, three and a five just to move down three spots, to me, is an absolute steal. Absolute slam dunk, take that all day.
“Now you have two first round picks next year, on a team in the New York Giants that probably shouldn’t be very good. At best they may hover around .500, which means you’re picking in the middle of the first round again next year on top of your own pick.”
So, for the first time this draft season (it came early), I’ll ask a question that I’m surely going to ask 487 more times before April 24, 2025:
Who says no???
Don’t try to fight it, Pats fans. This is where you live now.
Accept it. Embrace it. Learn to love it. Otherwise, you’ll go crazy.
And hopefully, if the organization can hit on a few of these picks in a row, you won’t be here for long.
But until then, enjoy the fake trades!