Most NFL Draft trade ideas floated by experts, fans, and pundits focus on teams moving up in Round 1 to select a quarterback. But what about teams targeting wide receivers?
The 2024 NFL Draft class is loaded with high-end prospects at both quarterback and receiver. When the dust settles, the two positions might occupy each of the top six picks.
With that in mind, we believe the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Chargers are intriguing candidates for a trade at the top of Round 1.
Patriots-Chargers NFL Draft Trade Idea Details
Note: This trade was proposed and accepted in Pro Football Network’s NFL Mock Draft Simulator.
The Patriots and Chargers own the Nos. 3 and 5 picks, respectively. Even though the gap is narrow, Los Angeles would need a strong offer to convince New England to move down from No. 3, where one of Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and Marvin Harrison Jr. is guaranteed to be available. The offer doesn’t need to be crazy, however.
Here’s what we came up with:
Patriots get: 2024 R1 (5), 2024 R2 (37), 2025 R3
Chargers get: 2024 R1 (3)
It’s a fair deal on paper, but that doesn’t mean the case for making the trade is air-tight. Let’s get into both sides.
Case for Patriots-Chargers Trade
The Patriots probably should stay at No. 3 and select a quarterback, regardless of whether it’s Maye, Daniels, or J.J. McCarthy. Recent reports indicate Daniels likely will go second overall to the Washington Commanders, but pre-draft reports should be taken with a grain of salt. Regardless, you could argue New England shouldn’t get cute, and just take a quarterback.
But if the Patriots do trade down, it would be hard to beat this deal. It’s all about options.
At pick 5, New England still could get a quarterback, even though it would need to be comfortable with McCarthy. However, Maye or Daniels also could be available, as the Chargers likely would take a receiver at No. 3, and the Arizona Cardinals wouldn’t take a QB at No. 4.
Of course, the Cardinals might trade their pick, and franchise general manager Monti Ossenfort recently said Arizona is “open” for business at No. 4. So, the top four QBs could be off the board by the time the Patriots pick at 5. But this is where networking matters.
Many decision-makers in New England have established connections with Ossenfort, who worked for the Patriots in a variety of roles from 2006 through 2019. If the Patriots are dead-set on taking a top QB prospect, they probably won’t make this trade without intel from Ossenfort on what the Cardinals are planning.
But let’s say the Patriots aren’t QB-or-bust in the first round. One of the top three receiver prospects likely will be available at pick 5, as will one of the top offensive tackles. And that’s good news for the Patriots, whose top offseason needs are QB, WR, and OT, in some order.
New England also could use its own Day 2 picks, and the extra assets from the Chargers, to fill one of their other holes. For example, the Patriots could draft tackle Joe Alt at No. 5, then use their second-round pick (34) and the Chargers’ (37) to select a receiver and a quarterback.
New England also could package the two second-rounders to move back into Round 1 for a second-tier QB like Michael Penix Jr. And if the Patriots take a QB at pick 5, they can use the second-rounders for the other needs. You get the idea.
As for the Chargers, the world knows they need a receiver.
MORE: WR Options for the Chargers — Rome Odunze and Malik Nabers Loom Large in NFL Draft
Mike Williams is now a New York Jet, and Keenan Allen is a Chicago Bear. If the season started today, LA’s top wideouts would be Joshua Palmer and Quentin Johnston. That’s not going to cut it, even if Johnson experiences a Year 2 breakout.
The Chargers could sit at No. 5 and take whichever QB is available. But what if they get leapfrogged by another WR-needy team? Los Angeles should eliminate all variables and just move up to No. 3 for Harrison.
Case Against Patriots-Chargers Trade
Ultimately, the Patriots and Chargers might be better off standing pat.
New England needs a new franchise quarterback. Some people say the Patriots should build a strong foundation before inserting a rookie QB, and there’s merit to that argument.
But this might be the best quarterback class in a decade, and the Patriots might not draft this high for another 20 years. Whether it’s Daniels or Maye, the Patriots should stay at No. 3 and select their next franchise QB.
And that’s probably what they’ll do, as the recent signing of bridge QB Jacoby Brissett sent a crystal-clear message. Moreover, this year’s WR class is ridiculously deep. Despite their infamous failures at drafting receivers, the Patriots could find a top wideout in Round 2. Other teams do it all the time.
The Chargers also should stay in their spot. Multiple reports indicate the top four picks will be used on quarterbacks. And those reports came out before the Minnesota Vikings made a trade that made it fairly obvious they want to trade up for a QB.
It once seemed impossible, but Harrison could be available at No. 5. Even if he’s not, the Chargers probably would have their pick of Malik Nabers or Rome Odunze. Some evaluators even believe those two prospects rank ahead of Harrison.
So, the Chargers won’t need to be aggressive in pursuing an elite receiver prospect. One probably will fall into their laps.
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However, a tackle also would make sense at No. 5. The Chargers need to do a better job of protecting Justin Herbert, making tackle arguably their top draft need. There are some elite tackle prospects in this draft, and all should be available at No. 5.
What’s Ian Cummings’ Take?
Pro Football Network’s Ian Cummings knows the draft, the prospects, and the scouting process as well as anyone — if not better. For what it’s worth, in his latest seven-round mock draft, Cummings has the Patriots trading the third pick to the Vikings, who select Maye, and the Chargers taking Alt at No. 5.
Here’s his take on a possible Patriots-Chargers Round 1 swap:
“This is a unique team pairing that isn’t always posited, but it could be in play in one specific scenario: A scenario where the Chargers have fallen in love with Marvin Harrison Jr., and a scenario where the Patriots maintain a credible interest in Harrison, but also leave the door open for the Chargers to compel them off that spot, and leapfrog the Cardinals — another threat to take MHJ — at No. 4 overall.
“This is a clear win for the Patriots, in my opinion. They only move back two spots, and because the Chargers would be trading up for a WR, one of J.J. McCarthy or Jayden Daniels would still be available at No. 5. The Patriots would be able to add a QB, while also adding a second-round pick in 2024 and a third-rounder in 2025.
“The only hang-up for New England is, it gives up real estate at No. 3 — real estate that might allow it to have its pick between McCarthy and Daniels, whomever it prefers. And on the off chance Drake Maye falls to No. 3, I don’t think the assets gained in the trade are worth passing him up.
“For the Chargers, the benefit is clear. If you take on this trade, you get Harrison — my highest-graded WR prospect in my four years of grading. Harrison would be an instant game-changer with Justin Herbert under center, whose reliability as a separator and contested catch threat would help hedge for Quentin Johnston’s uncertainty.
“But the Chargers also have a number of needs outside of WR, and giving up the 37th pick impedes their ability to address those other needs.
This trade would be easier to swallow for Los Angeles if the 2024 NFL Draft class didn’t also have LSU’s Malik Nabers and Washington’s Rome Odunze. Nabers is a blue-chip prospect for me as well, and Odunze is close to that threshold.
“If the Chargers are dead-set on adding a first-round WR to fill their roster void, they could just as easily stay at No. 5 overall and take one of those two. As transcendent as Harrison is, Nabers and Odunze are almost just as potent.”
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