Patriots trade for Falcons wide receiver Mohamed Sanu; send second-round draft pick to Atlanta

The New England Patriots’ wide receiver group will get some reinforcements soon when first-round rookie N’Keal Harry returns off injured reserve — he is eligible to return to game action in Week 9 against the Baltimore Ravens. However, it looks as if the team does not want to wait this long to add another body to the position: as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Patriots have acquired the Atlanta Falcons’ Mohamed Sanu via trade.

New England will send a second-round draft pick to Atlanta in return for the veteran wideout, who has caught 33 passes for 313 yards and a touchdown in seven games so far this season — solid production that would rank him among the Patriots’ top receiving weapons. While his actual role has yet to be determined, it would not be a surprise if the 30-year-old saw action as a rotational option alongside the team’s top-three at the position.

Adding Sanu to a group also consisting of Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon and Phillip Dorsett II as well as undrafted rookies Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski (as well as Harry, once he returns) gives the Patriots a deep group at wide receiver — a position that saw Gordon and Dorsett recently suffer injuries, and has never quite filled the spot originally occupied by the likes of Antonio Brown and Demaryius Thomas.