The chase for a No. 1 receiver has been an elusive pipe dream for the New England Patriots for years.
Rarely has the team gone all-in at the receiver position, but that could obviously change with Bill Belichick no longer running things. Patriots coach Mike Vrabel didn’t shy away from the need to add a top playmaking receiver when fielding questions from the media on Tuesday.
Whether through a trade or free agency, Vrabel plans on exploring every opportunity to upgrade the position.
“You usually have to draft them,” Vrabel said at the NFL Scouting Combine, via Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan. “…Then sometimes, based on circumstances, (they’re) available for trade. I think we’ll explore every opportunity that we can to add great players that we feel like are the right fit and we feel like and that can help us. There’s only so many options in free agency and in trade and the draft. We’ll explore all three of those.”
The top pending free agent receiving options are Tee Higgins and Chris Godwin. However, the Cincinnati Bengals reportedly plan to use the franchise tag on Higgins for a second straight season, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers probably aren’t letting Godwin get away without a fight.
That doesn’t mean those options are a no-go for the Patriots. It simply means they need to be prepared to pivot if those options close in free agency.
There might also be potential trade options for players like Cooper Kupp, Chris Olave and DK Metcalf. The draft evaluation will also play a major role with Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan and Missouri’s Luther Burden III currently projected as the top two receiving options on the board.
One thing is certain in whatever direction the Patriots take this offseason: they can’t afford to come away empty-handed for a second consecutive year.