We know it's coming . The Pats are on the clock. The minutes are ticking away and finally GODell steps up to the mic. " We have a trade .The New England Patriots trade the ____ pick in the 2012 draft to the  _____ . "  I've been looking at the other 31 teams  to see if there's a possible match (Actually 30 teams cuz the Jets & Pats are NOT gettin a deal done this century)  Accurately predicting who the enigmatic Pats will deal with is next to impossible but I think I've identified a few potential trade partners. Here's the Pats draft picks : New England Patriots : 1-27 , 1-31, 2-16 , 2-31, 3-31, 4-31 St. Louis might be a good fit.  They have a new regime in town and sometimes newbies get impatient  ( see Josh McD in Denver ) Here's the Rams picks :   St. Louis Rams : 1-6 from Washington, 2-1, 2-7 from Washington, 3-2, 4-1, 6-1, 7-2, 7-45 (compensatory)   I bet BB covets the Rams pick # 33 ( 1st selection of day two ) and considering the Rams also own pick # 39 , I could see new GM Les Snead being ok with parting with it should a coveted player still be on the board near the end of round 1 ....maybe a wr for Bradford ?   Even if the Patriots just traded their # 31 for the Rams # 33 and in return only got a swap of 4ths - the Pats would be moving up almost a full round for moving back two spots. More importantly , as we all know NFL teams use the break in the action between rounds to reset their boards - making that #33 pick all the more valuable * Another potential partner could be the Falcons . Atlanta Falcons : 2-23, 3-22, 5-22, 6-23, 7-22, 7-42 (compensatory) They dont have a 1st ( 2011 Julio Jones trade ) and might just get antsy waiting 55 picks to finally make their first selection ( BB and GM Demetroff are tight too ) We all know BB loves to get his hands on future 1st rounders . Pats #31 for Falcons #55 and a 2013 First ? ( This would mirror the 2011 Saints Trade )   Another team that might want to get in on the Pats trade action while being forced to wait their turn is the Cardinals .  They don't have a 2nd rounder ( Kolb trade ) and with the Pats holding two 2nds ( picks 16 and 31 of the round ) Arizona might come knocking .   Arizona Cardinals : 1-13, 3-18, 4-17, 5-16, 6-7, 6-15, 7-14  Conversely - This might be a year when BB goes the other way and moves up in the draft. Enter the Cleveland Browns. The Browns cupboards may be bare roster-wise but they're stacked when it comes to 2012 draft picks. Mike Holgram is a veteren GM who likely wouldn't be afraid to trade back. Word is they want out of the #4 pick .   Personally I dont see BB expending the kind of draft capitol it would take to reach that high , however I could envision him jumping up a few notches from the Pats #27 to the Browns second 1st rounder pick #21 - should the right prospect fall . Cleveland Browns : 1-4, 1-22 from Atlanta, 2-5, 3-4, 4-5, 4-23 from Atlanta, 5-4, 5-25 from Denver, 6-5, 6-35 (compensatory), 6-36 (compensatory), 7-4, 7-38 (compensatory), 7-40 (compensatory) * It should be noted that in 2011 BB threw us a curve ball by not trading the # 33 pick , instead selecting the injury prone Ras-I Dowling .  It was reported at the time that the Cards were interested in selecting Andy Dalton with the pick but wouldn't meet BB's asking price of a 2nd and a 2012 second.   Ironically a few months after the draft the Cards traded that 2012 2nd rounder and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to the Eagles for Kevin Kolb -who they then shelled out 63 mil for 5 years ...bet they're kicking themselves now for not bowing to BB's wishes . Andy Dalton ( 4 years - 5.2 million )
Posted by CaptnFoxboro

BB's unpredictability is a certainty.  Totally agree with BB wanting that 1st pick in 2nd round or as close to it as possible.  Probably #27 will go and it will be quite inrteresting to see how he works that out.
Posted by ATJ

 We know it's coming . The Pats are on the clock. The minutes are ticking away and finally GODell steps up to the mic. " We have a trade .The New England Patriots trade the ____ pick in the 2012 draft to the  _____ . "  I've been looking at the other 31 teams  to see if there's a possible match (Actually 30 teams cuz the Jets & Pats are NOT gettin a deal done this century)  Accurately predicting who the enigmatic Pats will deal with is next to impossible but I think I've identified a few potential trade partners. Here's the Pats draft picks : New England Patriots : 1-27 , 1-31, 2-16 , 2-31, 3-31, 4-31 St. Louis might be a good fit.  They have a new regime in town and sometimes newbies get impatient  ( see Josh McD in Denver ) Here's the Rams picks :   St. Louis Rams : 1-6 from Washington, 2-1, 2-7 from Washington, 3-2, 4-1, 6-1, 7-2, 7-45 (compensatory)   I bet BB covets the Rams pick # 33 ( 1st selection of day two ) and considering the Rams also own pick # 39 , I could see new GM Les Snead being ok with parting with it should a coveted player still be on the board near the end of round 1 ....maybe a wr for Bradford ?   Even if the Patriots just traded their # 31 for the Rams # 33 and in return only got a swap of 4ths - the Pats would be moving up almost a full round for moving back two spots. More importantly , as we all know NFL teams use the break in the action between rounds to reset their boards - making that #33 pick all the more valuable * Another potential partner could be the Falcons . Atlanta Falcons : 2-23, 3-22, 5-22, 6-23, 7-22, 7-42 (compensatory) They dont have a 1st ( 2011 Julio Jones trade ) and might just get antsy waiting 55 picks to finally make their first selection ( BB and GM Demetroff are tight too ) We all know BB loves to get his hands on future 1st rounders . Pats #31 for Falcons #55 and a 2013 First ? ( This would mirror the 2011 Saints Trade )   Another team that might want to get in on the Pats trade action while being forced to wait their turn is the Cardinals .  They don't have a 2nd rounder ( Kolb trade ) and with the Pats holding two 2nds ( picks 16 and 31 of the round ) Arizona might come knocking .   Arizona Cardinals : 1-13, 3-18, 4-17, 5-16, 6-7, 6-15, 7-14  Conversely - This might be a year when BB goes the other way and moves up in the draft. Enter the Cleveland Browns. The Browns cupboards may be bare roster-wise but they're stacked when it comes to 2012 draft picks. Mike Holgram is a veteren GM who likely wouldn't be afraid to trade back. Word is they want out of the #4 pick .   Personally I dont see BB expending the kind of draft capitol it would take to reach that high , however I could envision him jumping up a few notches from the Pats #27 to the Browns second 1st rounder pick #21 - should the right prospect fall . Cleveland Browns : 1-4, 1-22 from Atlanta, 2-5, 3-4, 4-5, 4-23 from Atlanta, 5-4, 5-25 from Denver, 6-5, 6-35 (compensatory), 6-36 (compensatory), 7-4, 7-38 (compensatory), 7-40 (compensatory) * It should be noted that in 2011 BB threw us a curve ball by not trading the # 33 pick , instead selecting the injury prone Ras-I Dowling .  It was reported at the time that the Cards were interested in selecting Andy Dalton with the pick but wouldn't meet BB's asking price of a 2nd and a 2012 second.   Ironically a few months after the draft the Cards traded that 2012 2nd rounder and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to the Eagles for Kevin Kolb -who they then shelled out 63 mil for 5 years ...bet they're kicking themselves now for not bowing to BB's wishes . Andy Dalton ( 4 years - 5.2 million )
Posted by CaptnFoxboro

In Response to PATS DRAFT PARTNER REVEALED? : Captn', this is all great stuff, BUT, I think we will see a shift in philosophy from BB in this draft as we have in the past as the NEW CBA makes these higher picks much more reasonable and feasible financially without mortgaging the team's future and flexibility. I don't think we will se as much bartering from BB this draft.
Posted by RallyC