The 2021 NFL Draft was a different experience for the New England Patriots. Not only did the team draft a quarterback for the first time since head coach/general manager Bill Belichick’s arrival more than two decades earlier, it also was comparatively quiet on the trade market.
In fact, the notoriously trade-happy Patriots swung just one of them during the three-day event. In the second round, Belichick and company moved up the board to select Alabama’s Christian Barmore 38th overall.
New England paid a steep price to climb those eight spots in order to get itself in a position to draft the highest-rated defensive tackle in the draft.