Three days away from the draft, Bill Belichick and his former right-hand man made a trade involving Day 3 picks. The Texans picked up a fifth-round pick in this draft, while the Patriots moved down.
Nick Caserio‘s team traded sixth- and seventh-round picks in this draft to the Patriots for a fifth-rounder, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. While trades featuring only Day 3 choices almost always occur during the draft, Belichick and Caserio acted early this year. Here are the official picks swapped, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter).
Patriots receive:
- No. 183
- No. 245
Texans receive:
- No. 170
The Patriots now hold three sixth-round picks in this draft. They already had a fifth, supplied by the Dolphins in the trade that sent DeVante Parker to New England. The Pats now have six Day 3 picks but more than one in just one of those rounds.
The Texans had dealt their original fifth-round choice to the Bears, acquiring wide receiver Anthony Miller just before last season. Miller did not last long in Houston, being cut in October. Houston previously had two sixth-round picks and one seventh. The AFC South club now has five Day 3 selections — two fourths, a fifth and two sixths.
Texans had 3 6th rounders- 183 205 207. They now have 2 6ths – 205 and 207- and a 5th. Deep draft so they probably wanted to get a guy they like sooner rather at 170 than see if he was there at 183.
Which is wild, considering they have zero idea who will be there.
Yeah my first reaction was that it’s not odd at all to see this sort of trade, but that it’s VERY odd to see this sort of trade before draft day.
Even the Saints trade was weird for that reason. The idea that anyone knows who’d be on the board at 170 but not 183 is beyond goofy.
Think the Saints have plans to move up further I wouldn’t be surprised to see them move into the top 10.
So much for my theory that Belichick would stray from his usual pattern and trade UP…
Belichick gonna Belichick
I’m genuinely curious as to why either team would do this trade at this point. There has to be a reason it made sense to both teams. It would be interesting to hear the rationale.
It makes some sense for the Patriots if they have a lot of similarly graded players that are projected to go at that point in the draft. It makes no sense for the Texans.
Interesting tidbit from NESN:
Bill Belichick has a history of ditching fifth-round picks, and one insider has a potential explanation behind the trend that gives background on Belichick’s first deal with ex-Patriot front office member Nick Caserio.
“The Patriots have only used six fifth-round picks in the last ten drafts, and three were specialists,” CLNS reporter Evan Lazar tweeted on Monday. “The hit rate of NFL draft picks levels off after the fourth round. In other words, there is very little difference between a fifth-round pick and a sixth or seventh. Might as well have more darts.”
Both make sense from a Pats point of view. I’m still scratching my head on the Texans’ side of things. If all are basically same, why trade up 13 spots while giving up an extra pick to do so? Who is there at 170 that wouldn’t have been there at 183?
It’s doubtful any of these picks have any meaningful impact at all. The deal is just an excuse for old pals to gossip about Kraft’s sexual adventures.
yeah that must be it, brilliant post. *sarcasm*