Top Patriots Trade Targets Entering 2022 Offseason

The New England Patriots need to surround Mac Jones with as many top options in the passing game as possible.

The AFC East side focused on offensive improvements last offseason, but it could use a No. 1 wide receiver to add to that collection of players.

Damien Harris is a strong No. 1 running back, Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith form a nice tight end combination, while Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor are solid secondary options at wide receiver.

New England should target some of the game's best wideouts in an attempt to give Jones a top target to contend in the AFC East.

The Patriots achieved a ton of success in Jones' first season at quarterback, but they need a bona fide top target to compete with the likes of the Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs.

Calvin Ridley is the big-swing option on the offseason trade market.

Ridley sat out a majority of the 2021 season, and the Atlanta Falcons may be willing to move on from him in the final year of his deal.

The 27-year-old's contract situation could be intriguing to the Patriots, who could bring him in on his current deal and have Atlanta help pay for some of it as part of the trade agreement.

Ridley has 821 or more receiving yards in three of his four seasons, and he turned in a 1,300-yard campaign in 2020.

The potential addition of Ridley would provide a needed boost to the Patriots' wide receiver room. Meyers, Bourne and Agholor are solid players, but not one of them is a clear-cut No. 1 option.

The wide receiver trio would be nice to fit in alongside Ridley and the two tight ends signed last offseason.

A Ridley trade would likely come with some contract negotiations. The Patriots should try to secure him on a new deal since he is set to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.

There is an obvious connection between the Patriots and Brandin Cooks.

Cooks spent the 2017 season in New England before he moved on to the Los Angeles Rams and then the Houston Texans.

Houston is an intriguing trade partner for any team in the league looking for a veteran player since it is in the middle of what could be a long rebuild.

Cooks already has familiarity with the Patriots system, and he would be a cheaper alternative to someone like Ridley on the trade market. He could serve as the No. 1 wideout in front of Meyers, Bourne and Agholor if he were acquired.

The 29-year-old put up back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in Houston and has hit the 1,000-yard mark in six of his eight NFL campaigns.

Meyers and Bourne both had more than 800 receiving yards in 2021, but they combined for just seven touchdowns. Cooks had six scores on his own.

Cooks' addition would not mortgage the team's salary-cap space—$7.3 million, per Spotrac—and would add depth at a position where the top AFC teams have a ton of talent.

Michael Thomas is a near-unrealistic option on the trade market, but it is worth exploring whether a deal is possible.

Thomas missed the 2021 season with an injury, and his contract—$24.7 million cap hit next season, per Spotrac—would be too expensive in its current structure for New England. However, the Patriots could rework Thomas' pact to fit him inside their salary-cap situation if they wanted to trade for him.

Now would be the perfect time to work a trade with the Saints because they are going through a change at head coach and quarterback.

Dennis Allen may opt to keep Thomas for the quarterback, whether it be Jameis Winston or someone else, but he also might be willing to take Thomas' contract off the books to ease the Saints' cap situation—New Orleans' is $76 million over the cap, per Spotrac.

A deal for Thomas seems like a long shot at best, but if it were to happen, the Patriots would have one of the best wide receiver groups in the AFC.