
2 best players Patriots must trade for in 2025 NFL offseason

01/28/2025 10:38 AM
The New England Patriots head into the NFL offseason with two things that every organization wants: A franchise quarterback and a proven head coach. It's been a few years since the Pats have had either of these things, so the team and the fanbase is justifiably fired up with Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel in the building. To take the next step, though, the Patriots need to crush free agency, the 2025 NFL Draft, and maybe even make a few trades.
With that as the mandate this NFL offseason, here are two trades the Patriots must make before training camp starts up again at the end of July.
Patriots trade for Seahawks WR DK Metcalf
Any team that drafts a franchise quarterback needs to do three things ASAP. They need to find the right offensive coordinator for him. They need to build an offensive line in front of him. And they need to get him weapons.
Time will tell if Mike Vrabel bringing back Josh McDaniels for his third stint as Pats OC is the right call, and we'll get to the offensive line shortly. But as for weapons, there should be several wide receivers on the market this NFL offseason that would fit the bill.
Ideally, the Patriots would get a young stud to grow with Maye, and New York Jets wideout Garrett Wilson absolutely fits that bill. There are two problems with Wilson, though. One is that he will be wildly expensive from a draft capital perspective, and the Patriots need all (or most) of the picks they can get at this point.
The other issue is that he plays for the AFC-rival Jets, and they would never trade him away to Massachusetts.
So, the player that New England can go after is Seattle Seahawks WR DK Metcalf. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound pass-catcher is still just 27 years old, and he has two Pro Bowls, 6,342 receiving yards, and 48 total touchdowns on his six-season resume.
A big, physical, No. 1 target like Metcalf would be perfect for Maye, and seeing the WR outside of the Seahawks, where he's been in his entire career, would be fascinating.
Also, the nice part about this deal is that the Patriots could likely make this trade without having to give up their No. 3 overall selection.
New England tries to resuscitate Giants OL Evan Neal
The offensive line is another huge issue for the Patriots. This unit came into the season as PFF's lowest projected offensive line and they were last in the site's grades from wire to wire.
So, the Patriots probably need to take an offensive lineman with their first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft (which is exactly what they do in ClutchPoint's latest NFL mock draft) and they need to add players through free agency and via trade.
They also need to get creative with how they build Maye's new offensive line.
One outside-the-box idea is to take someone else's trash and try to turn that player into a treasure, which brings us to New York Giants tackle Evan Neal.
Neal was the No. 7 overall pick of the 2022 draft and the former Alabama blocker has never become the bookend tackle the Giants projected him to be. In addition to playing poorly on the field, he has lashed out at fans for criticizing him and he reportedly has refused a move to guard.
As Neal enters the final year of his rookie deal, the Giants may try to move him to recoup something from their draft capital expenditure three years ago. That said, it shouldn't cost much to get him from New Jersey to the Greater Boston area.
The former Crimson Tide tackle could be a classic change-of-scenery guy who will excel on his second NFL team, whoever that may be. Plus, last season he started to become a pretty good run blocker at right tackle, which is a step in the right direction.
If the price is right, the Patriots making a trade for Neal and possibly getting big value for relatively little cost (and risk) makes a ton of sense.
The post 2 best players Patriots must trade for in 2025 NFL offseason appeared first on ClutchPoints.