The New England Patriots continue to aggressively pursue options of moving up into the top 10 to select a quarterback in Thursday’s NFL Draft.
The presumed target is Ohio State QB Justin Fields.
According to a report by Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, the Patriots have put together some “groundwork” on a trade with the Carolina Panthers – who own the No. 8 pick – about a potential trade in the first round of the Draft:
[T]he Patriots have sniffed around on a trade up into the top 10, presumably for a quarterback — and I can say that if [Justin] Fields is sitting there at No. 8, there are strong ties between New England and Carolina, and some groundwork has been done on what a deal might look like.
The trade makes sense for both sides as the Patriots are in search for the heir apparent to Tom Brady and seem to interested in at least one of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft. As for the Panthers, they recently traded for Sam Darnold and are interested in acquiring additional draft capital as they build around him.
