2018 NFL draft: The Patriots' trades position them well for the 2019 draft

When we asked our followers on Twitter to describe the New England Patriots' 2018 draft with one word, “trade” was a popular answer – and for good reason as the team set a new franchise record with eight draft day trades. While most of the trades saw the team simply move around the board to pick up additional selections this year, three future picks were also acquired in the process.

The Patriots added a second-rounder from the Chicago Bears, a third-round pick from the Detroit Lions, as well as an additional seventh-round selection from the Philadelphia Eagles. As a result of all the trading, the team is now projected to have the following picks available in 2019 (via ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss):

1st

2nd (via Bears)

2nd

3rd (via Lions)

3rd (projected compensatory pick for Nate Solder)

3rd (projected compensatory pick for Malcolm Butler)

4th

5th

6th (projected compensatory pick for Dion Lewis)

7th

7th (via Eagles)

7th (projected compensatory pick for Cameron Fleming)

As can be seen, the Patriots are in line to have plenty of ammunition available for next year's draft even after trading away a third-rounder to the Cleveland Browns for defensive tackle Danny Shelton and a sixth-rounder to the Lions for cornerback Johnson Bademosi.

This, in turn, sets the team up well once again to move up and down the board and potentially do what it has not done over the weekend: Invest a high-end draft choice in a quarterback or front-seven defender. Unless something drastically changes until next year – and the chances of that happening are very good knowing the Patriots –, the team will have every chance to do just that.

After all, it will have a lot of draft capital at its disposal not just in terms of volume but also when it comes to value. If converted from the list above to Rich Hill's draft value chart – using current odds to project where each team will end up picking – New England is currently entering the 2019 draft cycle with a combined 599.62 points worth of draft selections.

For comparison, the Patriots had 705.02 points available before the draft this year, which ranked sixth-league wide. The 599.62 points would put the team in the 13th spot. But despite the drop in ranking, they are still once again projected to be in a position to add considerable talent to their team next year.