Patriots Patience: TRADE No. 21 Pick to Kansas City Chiefs for Two Extra Selections

The most prolific trader in NFL Draft history was at it again Thursday night as Bill Belichick moved off New England's No. 21 pick.

Trader Bill, at it again.

With several of their coveted targets still on the board at No. 21, the New England Patriots traded down in Thursday's NFL Draft with the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for picks No. 29, 94 and 121.

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Patriots boss Bill Belichick added to his legacy as the draft's most prolific draft-day deal-maker.

With the 21st pick, the Chiefs selected University of Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie.

Robert Kraft

Mac Jones

Sauce Gardner

While the AFC East rival New York Jets improved with two selections in the Top 10, the Patriots acquired more draft collateral.

The Patriots enter the draft needing help at receiver, linebacker, defensive end, cornerback and, of course, Bill Belichick's favorite - offensive lineman. In various mock drafts, they have been linked to Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd, Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean, Alabama receiver Jameson Williams, Arkansas receiver Treylon Burks, Georgia defensive lineman Jordan Davis, Boston College offensive tackle Zion Johnson, Clemson cornerback Andrew Booth Jr., Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam and Northern Iowa offensive tackle Trevor Penning.

At 21, Lloyd, Dean, Booth and Elam were all available.

A year ago, the Patriots drafted Alabama and Davey O'Brien Award-winning quarterback Mac Jones 15th overall and his impressive Pro-Bowl rookie season led them to a playoff berth. Jones led all rookies in wins, completion percentage, passing yards and touchdowns.

After an impressive seven-game winning streak in the middle of the season, New England lost three of its last four to finish 10-7 before being pummeled, 47-17, in the Wild Card game by the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills.

The Patriots - who were only a disappointing 4-5 at Gillette Stadium - finished with the NFL's second-best defense. Only the Bills (289) allowed fewer points than their 303. New England's +159-point differential trailed only the Bills (+194) and Dallas Cowboys (+172).

This offseason Belichick has retained most of the team's core veterans and even gone back-to-the-future with a couple familiar names from the glorious past.

New England re-signed kicker Nick Folk, running back James White, offensive tackle Trent Brown, backup quarterback Brian Hoyer, special teams maven and captain Matthew Slater and 2021 leading tackler Ja'Whaun Bentley. The Patriots are also bringing back defensive backs Devin McCourty (who turns 35 in August) and Malcolm Butler (who retired last season).

Kaiir Elam

No. 1 from 2021

Nakobe Dean

Newcomers include former Dolphins receiver DeVante Parker, former Giants safety Jabrill Peppers, Texans cornerback Terrance Mitchell and hybrid running back/receiver Ty Montgomery, signed from the Saints to fill the dual-threat role filled by Cordarrelle Patterson in 2018 and taken to the next level by Deebo Samuel in San Francisco in 2021.

The Patriots' key losses are two-time Super Bowl linebacker Kyle Van Noy (released last month), cornerback J.C. Jackson (signed with the Chargers), offensive guard Ted Karras (signed with the Bengals) and long-time offensive-line stalwart Shaq Mason (traded to the Buccaneers for a 5th-round pick).

And, biggest of all, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left to become head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders and took three assistants with him. With no official replacement yet, speculation is that Belichick will assume play-calling duties for the first time in his legendary career.

Already the NFL Draft's most prolific horse trader, Belichick earlier this week swapped picks with the Texans.

New England's remaining draft picks:

Round 1: 29

Round 2: 54

Round 3: 85, 94

Round 4: 121, 127

Round 5: 158, 183

Round 6: 200, 210

Round 7: 245