The New England Patriots still have a glaring need along their offensive line, as they haven’t improved it much outside of signing Morgan Moses in free agency.
The Patriots are expected to address the issue in the NFL Draft, but NESN’s George Balekji and Athan Hristodulu have found another way for New England to repair the problem: swinging a big trade.
In their blockbuster idea, Balekji and Hristodulu have the Pats sending the fourth overall pick in the draft to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for pick Nos. 17, 49 and 81, a 2026 first-round pick and offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr.
That may seem like a rather steep price for the Bengals to pay, as they would be surrendering a pair of first-round selections as well as a four-time Pro Bowler, so this would certainly represent one heck of a deal for the Patriots in this instance.
Brown made four straight Pro Bowls while with the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs between 2019 and 2022. He hasn’t maintained the same level of dominance with the Bengals and missed six games due to a fractured fibula this past year, so Cincinnati may consider moving him in the right package.
Meanwhile, New England would be able to solve its issue at left tackle here while also stockpiling some other draft picks in order to fill out the rest of its roster, which still has some significant issues in spite of the Pats’ free-agent spending spree.
It’s looking less and less likely that Travis Hunter will be available for the Patriots at No. 4, so if that ends up being the case, New England may very well consider trading down in order to accumulate as much draft capital as possible.