Patriots Draft Strategy: What Last Year Reveals About New England’s 2026 Plan

The New England Patriots currently hold 11 selections in the 2026 NFL Draft.

We’ve already taken a look at their board in our earlier An Overview of the New England Patriots’ Upcoming 2026 NFL Draft Picks.

Now, we turn to ways the Patriots may look to shuffle the deck with their 11 choices. What was their strategy last year, and how might that impact what they do in 2026?

With three picks in the top 100 and eight on Day 3, it’s more likely than not that we’ll see New England move around the board.

If the 2025 NFL Draft was any indication of how head coach Mike Vrabel wants to handle building a team, the Patriots are in for another aggressive and fruitful April this year.

Let’s take a closer look at how last year’s draft played out for New England, and how that may serve as a foreshadowing of things yet to come for the Patriots in 2026.

Here’s the full list of draft selections that New England made during the 2025 NFL Draft:

As with 2026, the Patriots ultimately held 11 selections in 2025 — all 11 players remain with the team, and suited up for regular-season action at least once this season.

New England didn’t just “stick and pick,” though. They made five trades during the 2025 NFL Draft, beginning inside the top 100 picks.

Last year, New England held four top-100 picks. Here’s how that played out for them:

Each of the four were key contributors for the Patriots in 2025, with Campbell and Wilson composing the left side of New England’s offensive line and Henderson serving as a spell back to Rhamondre Stevenson for much of the season. Williams still has potential as an explosive downfield threat, but only logged 21 targets last season; he’s still mostly projection at this point.

As for trades, the Patriots began their movement on the board within the top-100 picks to accrue additional assets:

Trade 1 — Round 3 (Trade down with Carolina)

Patriots sent:

Patriots received:

Pick usage:

Trade 2 — Round 3 (Trade down with Kansas City)

Patriots sent:

Patriots received:

Pick usage:

The Patriots used their additional draft capital to acquire Wilson, EDGE Bradyn Swinson, and an additional fourth-round pick this year.

In the 2026 NFL Draft, we could see some shuffling around the board from New England as early as the 31st overall pick. At 31, the Patriots are in an ideal position to trade back to the top of the second round and gain more draft capital — as teams try to jump ahead of others on the board to select a player they covet, and retain a fifth-year option on their contract before the top of the second round hits.

New England could also use that 31st pick as a trade asset for a particular player they identify as a high-profile trade target — like Maxx Crosby, Myles Garrett, or A.J. Brown, to name just a few.

In the second and third round, the Patriots’ Day 3 picks may come into play as additional pieces to move up or down the board. We saw them do both in 2025.

With two fourth-round picks and four sixth-round picks in 2026, New England may look to use those Day 3 selections as trade chips for depth players or future draft capital, but they also made effective use of those late selections last year. Here’s how Day 3 shook out for the Patriots last year:

In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Patriots held two fourth-round and three seventh-round selections, but that wasn’t initially by design. They traded three times on Day 3 last year, including a move up the board in the fourth round:

Trade 3 — Round 4 (Trade up with Seattle)

Patriots sent:

Patriots received:

Pick usage:

Trade 4 — Round 5 (Trade down with Detroit)

Patriots sent:

Patriots received:

Pick usage:

Trade 5 — Round 7 (Trade down with Kansas City)

Patriots sent:

Patriots received:

Pick usage:

New England’s two fourth-round selections were S Craig Woodson — who led the Patriots in defensive snaps played in 2025 and the NFL in tackles during the postseason — and DT Joshua Farmer — who played consistently as a rotational interior defensive lineman with 224 snaps during the regular season before landing on injured reserve on December 23.

The Patriots’ fifth-round pick, EDGE Bradyn Swinson, had other suitors during the 2025 season as a member of the practice squad, but chose to remain in New England for an opportunity to compete for a roster spot. With edge rusher a current position of need for the Patriots, Swinson could provide an extra boost to the room if he develops in the offseason.

They made effective use of their sixth-round selection with kicker Andy Borregales, and took another specialist, long snapper Julian Ashby, in the seventh round.

Now that those specialist positions are filled, they could look for a future replacement for punter Bryce Baringer — who is set to play out the final year of his contract in 2026 — with one of the later picks to continue the trend and keep the position filled at a more controlled cost.

Even with punter penciled in as a potential Day 3 selection, the Patriots will still hold seven picks on April 25 if circumstances hold as they’re currently constituted. They were efficient in their use of those picks last year, but it’s likely that there’ll be movement involving those chips before or on draft day.

New England enters free agency and draft season with an abundance of assets and a foundation that’s ready for a few finishing touches.

If last year provided a peek ahead at their offseason mentality, it’s likely we’ll see the Patriots take another aggressive approach toward roster building in the weeks ahead.

Next, we’ll be taking a closer look at players currently under contract that could be a part of their roster reshuffling — with some names that may come as a surprise.

Stay tuned for that and more on Patriots Roundtable.

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Related Articles:

- An Overview of the New England Patriots’ Upcoming 2026 NFL Draft Picks

- Examining the 2026 New England Patriots’ Upcoming Free Agents

- Three Positions of Need for the New England Patriots in the 2026 Offseason 

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