Patriots Trade Out of First Round of 2020 NFL Draft

New England trades their first round pick to acquire a second and third round pick.

After three hours of waiting, the New England Patriots did the thinkable. 

New England traded the 23rd overall pick to the Los Angeles Chargers, according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. In return, the Patriots received the 37th and 71st overall picks from Los Angeles.

Picks 37 and 71 for 23 https://t.co/sRNpCcjdDP

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 24, 2020

There was belief based on many draft boards that the first round talent began to dip off towards the mid-to-late part of the first round. New England apparently believed that to be the case, which is why they traded their Day 1 pick to acquire an early second round and third round pick. The Patriots now have 13 draft picks to work with for the remainder of the draft. 

Now that New England has a second round pick - which they previously did not have - it may shift their game plan in terms of who they target. Based on their needs and who could be available when it's their turn to pick on Day 2, someone like Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet comes to mind immediately, as he is the top prospect at that position this year and would fill a major need for the six-time Super Bowl champions. The option also exists for them to select a quarterback in the second round, as it was reported that New England planned on spending a "premium" pick on a QB this year. But there could be other viable options as well depending on how the rest of the first round plays out.