The first of likely many Patriots moves this offseason occurred Tuesday with the team swinging a trade with the Raiders to bring back offensive tackle Trent Brown.
Brown was likely going to be released by the Raiders, but the Patriots stepped in and made a trade. It’s swap of fifth-round picks in 2022 and the Patriots also picked up a seventh-rounder.
Instead of waiting for him to be released and be on the open market available for everyone, the Patriots took matters into their own hands and made a move.
This should be viewed as a good thing relating to what is to come next week with free agency beginning and the official start of the offseason. It appears the Patriots are going to be aggressive.
Offensive line wasn’t one of the biggest needs on the roster, but the opportunity presented itself to land a player they think highly of and they pounced. Sure, it cost a little in draft capital, but they took matters into their own hands.
This could be a sign that it will be their attitude moving forward the rest of the offseason.
Instead of waiting for things to happen with the quarterback market, perhaps they will be proactive and add a player next week. While it doesn’t seem like they will go after some of the biggest names at wide receiver and tight end, perhaps they will show aggression and add some of the second-tier players that don't cost as much early on in free agency.
In the past they have waited for the second and third waves of free agency before making deals and maybe this year will be different.
The Brown trade is a good start.
As for the move relating to the offense, it could be an indication the team will be looking to ride the running game and have that be what the offense is centered around. Brown, who restructured his deal so he will be in a contract year, was incredibly important to the run game in 2018, his only season in New England.
In the playoffs, the Patriots had eight rushing touchdowns and they ran to Brown's side on six of them. Clearly, he can have a major impact on the running game.
It’s also worth noting Damien Harris and Sony Michel showed towards the end of the 2020 season they could one of the better running back tandems in the entire league. Harris finished the year with with 691 yards in 10 games, while Michel had some of the best games of his three-year career, totaling 449 yards in nine games. He was particularly good towards the end of the season.
Relying on the run game could also make things easier on whatever quarterback is brought in this offseason.
This doesn’t mean the team won’t look to add any receivers or tight ends, but being a run-first offense wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world considering the likely options for players to be under center in 2021.
So, while it was the first of many moves to come over the next few weeks, acquiring Brown could be a sign of things to come.
