Despite picking one player in each of the first three rounds of the 2022 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots are entering into the final day with considerable capital still in hand.
A series of trades conducted on Thursday and Friday, as well as before the draft, has left the club with seven selections. Only the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers — both proud owners of eight Day 3 picks — have more selections available heading into the fourth and subsequent rounds.
In total, the Patriots’ capital stacks up as follows:
- Round 4: No. 121 (via Kansas City)
- Round 4: No. 127
- Round 4: No. 137 (via Carolina)
- Round 6: No. 183 (via Houston)
- Round 6: No. 200
- Round 6: No. 210 (via Los Angeles)
- Round 7: No. 245 (via Houston from Dallas)
New England is currently scheduled to be on the clock in every round but the fifth on Saturday. A lack of capital in that particular round should not be concerning, though: over the last 10 drafts, the Patriots have picked only five players in said round (LS Joe Cardona, LB Ja’Whaun Bentley, DT Byron Cowart, K Justin Rohrwasser, LB Cameron McGrone)
Given the accumulation of picks in the fourth and sixth rounds, meanwhile, it would not be a surprise if the Patriots opted to bundle some of their draft choices together to move around the board. They did just that on Friday, when they invested two of their draft choices to move up the board in the second round and select wide receiver Tyquan Thornton.
New England, of course, could also opt to involve future draft choices in any potential trades — either to create more flexibility this year, or to boost the capital in 2023. That happened on Friday, when the team sent one of its third-rounders to Carolina for a fourth this year plus an extra third next.
For additional information about this capital, let’s break it down using the Rich Hill value chart:
- Round 4: 19.1 (4-121) + 16.7 (4-127) + 13.3 (4-137)
- Round 6: 4.7 (6-183) + 3.2 (6-200) + 2.6 (6-210)
- Round 7: 1.2 (7-245)
New England’s picks are worth a combined 60.8 value points, which is roughly the equivalent of the 65th overall pick in the early third round. For comparison, last year’s remaining capital had the combined value of the 95th overall pick.
This shows that the team has plenty of flexibility to maneuver around the board on Saturday to continue adding young talent to the roster.
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