The New England Patriots have been looking for a true No. 1 receiver for a while now, and earlier in the week, San Francisco 49ers wideout Brandon Aiyuk officially requested a trade after the Patriots called.
New England should obviously be in on the wide receiver, but San Francisco will likely be looking for a lot in return.
What should the Patriots offer then?
The Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan recently put together a package that he believes is "perfect" for Aiyuk.
"This is an NBA deal that's come to the NFL," Callahan said on his "Pats Interference" podcast on Thursday. "The Niners trade their first-round pick in 2025 and Brandon Aiyuk for the Patriots' first-round pick in 2025.
"Now, here's the logic behind this. When you follow modern trade value charts, not the Jimmy Johnson trade chart... the Patriots' first-round pick, as we currently project, right now they have the third-worst odds to make the Super Bowl, so theoretically, they should have the third overall pick, that would be worth 514 points. The Niners, as well know, are pretty good. They're projected to have the second-best odds of winning the Super Bowl, meaning they would pick 31st. When you look at the difference in value between those two picks, the third pick being worth 514 points and the 31st pick being worth 190, the difference is 324 points. That amounts to San Francisco, in this pick swap deal, adding what's equivalent to the 14th overall pick in the draft; a better-than-average first.
"I would almost guarantee you right now that if San Francisco can guarantee itself the 14th overall pick in exchange for Brandon Aiyuk... he's gone."
It'd probably be pretty tough for New England to want to give up their own first-round selection, which could be high, but they need a legitimate weapon.
We all saw what it was like for Mac Jones who, on top of having some asinine coaching situations to deal with, had Kendrick Bourne as his best weapon. No offense to Bourne, but that's not a great situation for any quarterback.
So, if the Patriots want to set up Drake Maye for success in the coming years, they need to be willing to potentially overpay for one.
