2020 NFL draft: The Patriots’ haul from the Jimmy Garoppolo trade is finally official

Three years after it was made, the Jimmy Garoppolo trade is finally complete. The haul of players received from that one draft pick the San Francisco 49ers sent to the New England Patriots for the young quarterback is impressive, but time will tell whether or not they will have an impact on the team in the short and long term (two of them have already been shipped out of town, for example). This one is tough to follow, so let’s go through all the breadcrumbs.

October 30, 2017

Trade: Jimmy Garoppolo to San Francisco for 2018 2nd (2-43)

2018 Draft

Trade: 2-43 to Detroit for 2-51 and 4-117

Trade: 2-51 to Chicago for 2019 2nd (2-56) and 4-105

Trade: 4-105 to Cleveland for 4-115 and 6-178

Trade: 4-114 to Detroit for 2019 3rd (3-73)

Draft: LB Christian Sam with 6-178

Draft: CB Duke Dawson Jr. (2-56) by trading 2-63 and 4-117

The one second-round pick in the 2018 draft that the Patriots acquired for Garoppolo was used to collect two additional picks in 2019, and, in part, to select two players. Have either of those players made a noticeable difference in New England? No, they have not. In fact, neither of them are still with the team: Dawson was traded to Denver last year; Sam was cut and is now under contract in Detroit. With that said, let’s see what happened in the 2019 draft, where New England was able to get two picks from this trade.

2019 Draft

Trade: 3-73 to Chicago for 3-87, 5-162, and 2020 4th (4-125)

Draft: CB Joejuan Williams (2-45) by trading 2-56 and 3-101

Draft: RB Damien Harris with 3-87

Draft: OT Yodny Cajuste (3-101) and QB Jarrett Stidham (4-133) by trading 3-97 and 5-162

August 31, 2019

Trade: CB Duke Dawson Jr. and 2020 7th (7-237) to Denver for 2020 6th (6-195)

The Patriots picked up four players in the 2019 draft as a direct, or indirect, result of trading Garoppolo — among them their possible QB of the future. Harris was selected with a pick received from the Chicago Bears from their trade back in the third round in 2018. Williams, Cajuste, and Stidham were all acquired by trading one of the picks they acquired in the trade, in conjunction with another one of the picks they already had.

This haul looks a heck of a lot better than the haul from the 2018 draft, especially considering that Stidham figures to be the Patriots’ starting quarterback this season. If Cajuste, Williams, and Harris can make contributions this season, this could be the haul that swings the trade in the Patriots’ favor, no matter what anyone tries to say. Oh, and there’s more: they still acquired a fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft, plus a sixth-rounder in 2020 from the Duke Dawson trade.

2020 Draft

Draft: TE Dalton Keene (3-101) by trading 4-125, 4-129, and 2021 6th

Draft: OT Justin Herron with 6-195

With those two selections the draft last weekend, the Patriots’ draft haul from the Jimmy Garoppolo trade is finally complete. Nothing too crazy here, but the Patriots did give up a decent amount for Keene. Considering that they have a huge need at the tight end position, he could come in and compete right away.

Recap

Jimmy Garoppolo has had quite a bit of success since the trade was made, bringing the 49ers all the way to the Super Bowl this season before losing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead against Kansas City. As for the Patriots, they got basically came up empty-handed in regards to the 2018 draft thanks to this trade, whiffing on the Dawson pick and getting almost nothing from Sam before parting ways with him last summer.

The 2019 draft, however, seems to be trending in the right direction. Williams played pretty well in very limited time last season, and Cajuste and Harris are in position to have an impact on the roster after basically being redshirted last season. The real prize here, however, is Stidham. He’s likely going to be New England’s starter this season, and, if he turns out to be competent (which the Patriots obviously believe that he can be), he will swing the trade towards the Patriots. It’s clearly too early to tell what the team got this draft, but a possible backup offensive lineman, and a tight end that figures to get a good amount of playing time is pretty solid.

I realize that there are people who will never say that the Patriots won this trade, but, let’s try to remember the circumstances and that the team also won a Super Bowl since making the trade. This is marked down as a win for me no matter what, but the haul of players that the Patriots were able to get from the trade makes it even more impressive.

Pat is a host of The Patriot Nation Podcast

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