The New England Patriots must upgrade their offensive line in the upcoming NFL Draft. However, one star prospect is not going to solve all of their problems.
The Patriots have the 4th overall pick and could look to trade the pick if they plan on selecting a lineman in the first round. MassLive’s Nick O’Malley predicted the Patriots would make this trade with the Las Vegas Raiders to land Kolten Miller and move down two spots, selecting Will Campbell.
- Patriots receive: No.6 overall pick
- Raiders receive: No.4 overall pick, No.69 overall pick and No.106 overall pick
“The Raiders appear to have eyes on Jeanty,” wrote O’Malley. “The Heisman finalist isn’t coming off the board in the top three. But by No. 4 and No. 5 there’s a chance a team could jump Vegas and snatch him up. Meanwhile, Miller may be in the early stages of a contract dispute with the Raiders. The Patriots should be picking up the phone to see if he’s available.”
Miller signed a three-year, $54 million deal in 2021 and is going into the final year of his extension. Last season he started all 17 games for the Raiders, but if they do not plan on extending him, they would be wise to package him in a trade to secure Jeanty.
O’Malley predicted the Patriots would still draft Campbell after acquiring Miller.
“That’s right. With this plan, New England can actually go about rebuilding its broken offensive line instead of just slapping some duct tape on it,” wrote O’Malley. “The Patriots are more than a left tackle away from fixing this unit. So in this scenario, I’ve got them grabbing Miller to play left tackle and then Campbell to play left guard as a rookie.”
O’Malley noted that after 2025, Campbell could replace Morgan Moses at right tackle or remain at guard and become an All-Pro. Regardless, moving back two spots to add Miller and Campbell would go a long way in rebuilding the offensive line.
