Lowly Patriots can’t take advantage of this NFL trade trend

The New England Patriots do not have Davante Adams, Amari Cooper or DeAndre Hopkins in their receiver room. Instead, they have veterans like Kendrick Bourne, KJ Osborn and Tyquan Thornton, all of whom could also be dealt before the NFL trade deadline.

While the trade packages for Adams, Cooper and most recently Hopkins are nothing to sneeze at, they certainly don’t serve as a blueprint for the Patriots. It’s not like the Patriots would get the same assets if they sent Bourne, Osborn or Thornton anywhere. Heck, a package with all three probably wouldn’t provide the same return.

The Las Vegas Raiders received a conditional third-round pick for Adams, the Cleveland Browns essentially acquired Cooper as a third-rounder, and the Tennessee Titans reportedly received a conditional fourth-rounder for Hopkins.

What Patriots fan wouldn’t take these assets, right? The 1-6 Patriots ultimately find themselves in a similar situation to the 2-5 Raiders, 1-6 Browns and 1-6 Titans. New England should move on from the players it can get something for, but the Pats don’t have many of them.

Bourne would probably get the best of three returns. The energetic veteran is the most accomplished, the most productive and plays for a reasonable price in the remainder of his term. Unfortunately, he is also a 29-year-old who suffered a torn ACL that caused him to miss the first four games of the season. Maybe the Patriots will be offered a conditional sixth-rounder from someone like the San Francisco 49ers?

Osborn, whose recent social media activity suggested he was unhappy in New England, was available on the open market in March. He agreed to a modest one-year, $4 million contract with the Patriots. Does it sound like some teams are engaging in a bidding war before the deadline? Osborn has seven catches for 57 yards in five games (four starts) this season. Maybe a team will throw out a seventh-rounder in hopes he looks like the Minnesota Vikings?

Thornton, meanwhile, might draw the least interest despite being younger (24) and a 2022 second-round pick. He’s done next to nothing in three seasons and has been a healthy scratch for the Patriots in each of the last two weeks. If you can’t make the roster in this receiver room, there’s a good chance you won’t make it anywhere. New England is reportedly looking to trade Thornton, but it’s hard to believe there will be suitors for a player with 15 catches in the last two seasons (14 games).

So while some teams are getting legitimate draft capital before the NFL trade deadline, don’t count on the Patriots being one of them.