Decision day has arrived for the New England Patriots.
Thursday night brings with it the first round of the NFL Draft, and the Patriots have had three months to think about how to use the fourth overall pick. But the beauty of draft night is that you never know which teams might call you with a mind-blowing offer at the last minute.
Many are assuming the Patriots will hang onto that fourth pick and take LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell. Maybe all of those people are spot-on. But one NFL writer has a much more rogue prediction.
On Thursday, Chris Bumbaca of USA Today predicted that the Patriots would trade their first pick to the Chicago Bears, allowing the latter to secure Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty at number four.
As to who the Patriots would then select, Bumbaca left it a mystery.
"The Patriots have been considered among the league’s worst rosters for quite some time, dating back to the final years of the Bill Belichick era," Bumbaca wrote. "Stockpiling picks, especially in a draft that’s been labeled as “starters not stars”... is the savviest (and analytically reliable) way out of that hole."
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"In addition to the 10th overall pick, Chicago owns two selections in the first part of the second round – No. 39 and No. 41 overall. No. 10 and one of those two picks – a sweetener may be necessary – could be enough to entice Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf to move back."
The Patriots aren't an obvious fit for Jeanty, though it's always enticing to bring in a player who just rushed for 2,600 yards. But is passing up on Campbell worth the extra second-round pick?
There's no perfect way to turn a last-place team into a playoff contender. The Patriots just have to choose what to do based on the strength of the offer, and whether or not they feel as though they can add more overall value to the team with two high draft picks instead of one really high one.
Shortly after 8 p.m. EST, we'll all find out what the Patriots have chosen to do.
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