The NFL trade deadline.
Cool concept. Not really a cool thing though. Trades just aren’t big in the NFL like they are in the other sports. There’s money involved, salary caps, and a lot of decent free agents. Most NFL teams really don’t have a use for trades. The Patriots did a couple though.
The Pats dealt AJ Derby to the Denver Broncos. What they receive in return? A fifth round pick. Hmm… OK, well he was a sixth round pick in 2015. He missed his entire rookie year with injury, and he didn’t accumulate any stats this year. It’s also worth noting Derby was a quarterback in college.
It’s also worth noting the Patriots got Martellus Bennett for a fourth round pick a few months back. So yeah, they’re killing at tight end, and that’s not even an Aaron Hernandez reference, albeit Bennett is good like Hernandez. Hernandez just isn’t someone you want someone following.
The Patriots also kept to their annual tradition of adding another linebackah. Third year in a row they added one. Kyle Van Noy is the guy this year — a former Detroit Lion. The Pats got him and a seventh round pick in exchange for a Patriots sixth round pick.
He was the Lions second round pick a few years back and he was a starter for the lions. He made 23 tackles in seven games. Makes sense because winning teams trade away their starters all the time just for the hell of it, especially when it means they’ll move up 15-20 picks and it’ll still be a late pick.
Got to say, the Pats know what they’re doing when it comes to these trades. Depth is always good. And it’s like the Pats traded Darby for Van Noy and a sixth round pick for a fifth and seventh round pick. Not bad at all, Pats.