Patriots Mulled Trade with Atlanta Before Picking Jimmy Garoppolo

The New England Patriots selected quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo with the 62nd overall pick, which might have seemed like an overdraft to some. Similar to taking Dominique Easley in the first, the Patriots weren't able to move down due to other interested teams.

While San Francisco and Seattle wanted Easley, reports say that Bill O'Brien and the Houston Texans were very high on Garoppolo as a quarterback prospect. So when it came time for the Patriots to make a decision, they realized they couldn't move into the third round and still get the guy they wanted.

Also, according to my own CSI equipment, it seems like the Patriots had an offer on the table with the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons' front office is run by former Bill Belichick acolytes Tom Dimitroff and Scott Pioli, which made their correspondence fairly non-surprising.

In the background of the Patriots Today piece, you can see a trade offer on the white board behind Robert Kraft's head as he's talking to Garoppolo on the phone:

Looks like Atlanta offered 68 and 147 for New England's 62. Which is a fair trade. Patriots opted to take Garoppolo. pic.twitter.com/gaqF2gehel

— Rich Hill (@PP_Rich_Hill) May 10, 2014

In the frame, you can see Mike Lombardi on his phone (I'm assuming Angry Birds), and the little table on the white board.

If you squint really carefully, you can see the Patriots offering their 62nd for the Falcons 68th and 147th. Per the Draft Value Chart, that's a perfectly even deal. However, 68th overall would drop the Patriots behind the Texans, a risk New England couldn't afford to take.

So while this is just another fact to float around, it shows how much is going on when making such a franchise-altering decision.