Patriots Could Take Advantage Of Draft Prospect’s Rising Hype

It might be in the Patriots’ best interest to trade down, but it could be difficult to find a trade partner.

New England’s 2025 NFL Draft will be dictated by who gets picked in the top three. According to multiple reports, Cam Ward, Abdul Carter and Travis Hunter will be taken with the first three picks. That would leave the Patriots with the opportunity to draft Will Campbell, who appears to be the “heavy favorite” for them at No. 4.

Campbell fills a need but is by no means a sure thing. It sounds good in theory for the Patriots to trade down for a team that likes Shedeur Sanders. However, the Colorado product comes into the draft with question marks about his talent, and a team like the New Orleans Saints could just wait for him to fall to No. 9.

However, another candidate for teams to trade up for is Ashton Jeanty. That was intel offered by Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer on Monday. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler called the Jacksonville Jaguars a “sleeper” team to select the Boise State product, and the Las Vegas Raiders are a popular choice to draft the running back at No. 6. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday that the Chicago Bears were “praying” that Jeanty falls to them at No. 10.

That’s a lot of interest in Jeanty, and while his agent might be doing most of the heavy lifting, it could be something for the Patriots to take advantage of. If a team wanted to jump the Jaguars and take Jeanty at No. 4, New England could drive a high price for the pick and land a big enough haul to fill its needs later in the draft. Breer added Monday that the Patriots would be willing to trade down, so the idea isn’t that outlandish.

The big question is whether a team would be willing to make such an investment for a running back. Jeanty is viewed by multiple evaluators as one of the best backs in the class with a considerable tier drop between him and Omarion Hampton, the consensus No. 2 tailback in the class.

If teams believe there’s a resurgence at the position based on last season, that would be perfect for the Patriots. They also should hope that Jeanty’s stock continues to rise heading into Thursday.