The New England Patriots pulled, well, a pretty classic Patriots move in Thursday’s first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, trading their 21st overall pick to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for the 29th overall pick, the 94th overall pick (third round) and the 121st overall pick (fourth round).
Although many fans might have preferred the Patriots to select a wide receiver or linebacker with the pick, the trade gives the team more capital in the mid-rounds of the draft while only moving back eight spots in the first round.
Even though fans may have been disappointed to wait at least eight more picks for New England to make their first-round selection, NFL analysts loved the move for the Patriots.
#Patriots come out quite a bit ahead in their trade with the #Chiefs pic.twitter.com/HjojaptITd
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) April 29, 2022
Patriots get the best of Chiefs by our AV-based chart.
Gained the equivalent of pick No. 63 in surplus value.
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) April 29, 2022
On the traditional Jimmy Johnson draft-value chart, the Patriots are +16 on the trade with the Chiefs.
Pick 21 (800 points) for pick 29 (640 points), pick 94 (124 points) and pick 121 (52 points).
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) April 29, 2022
Hopefully, when New England’s actual selections come around, they’ll be graded just as highly.