Fear of Falling

Patriot fans know there are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Bill Belichick will trade down during the draft.

It’s not just a pattern; it’s as reliable as the seasons, the sun rising, and celebrity controversies.

While we’ve grown to accept these trades, that doesn’t mean we enjoy learning the Pats traded down again. We’d like to see New England trade up to get a player they want. We’ve only seen it once when they drafted TE Daniel Graham in 2002.

With 12 selections in this year’s draft, eight are potential trade chips, as the four compensatory picks can not be traded. That’s still plenty to work with to be aggressive in the draft. We’d like to see a New York Jets-like approach to get the best players instead of bringing in a dozen players, half with a realistic chance of making the roster.

We will never know exactly what happens in New England’s war room and how they reach the decision to trade down. But based on past drafts, it is possible the player they desired was taken just picks before the Patriots were on the clock. With the targeted player gone, New England opted to trade down. That should give them more reason to go after who they want instead of hoping the cards fall just right.

There’s been three times a player that I was hoping would fall to the Pats was selected before New England’s turn. Each time, when it was the Patriots’ turn, they traded down. It can simply be coincidence, but I can’t help thinking there was a correlation:

2007, round three – I had my eye on LB Stewart Bradley because he was big, fast, and came from Nebraska, a defensive system famous for the Black Shirt. But Philadelphia shook hands with division rival Dallas and moved five picks ahead of the Patriots.

2009, round one – I projected Larry English to be the 23^rd overall pick to the Patriots, until San Diego unexpectedly took English with the 16^th pick.

2009, round three – Iowa RB Shonn Greene surprisingly was still available after two rounds, and New England had the ninth pick to start the day. But the Jets pulled the trigger on a trade with Detroit to move up to the first pick in the round and selected Greene.

There are some players I really hope the Pats draft (my dream draft for the first two rounds is due for Wednesday). If New England agrees with me on any of them, they should be proactive and go get the player they want because he might not be available when they are on the clock. They had 12 draft picks last year. This time put quality ahead of quantity.