According to Walder’s calculations, New England “won” the trade in terms of point value and gained a late second-round pick in the process.
“Yes, the player selected at 21 has a better career outlook, but the difference between them and a player at 29 is substantially smaller than the value of additional third-round and fourth-round selections.
Of course, the team went on to use the 29th pick in the draft on Cole Strange, which has drawn more than a few eyebrow raises and criticism after the fact.
“One of the clearest errors a team can make is selecting a player long before they need to, and that seemed to be the case with Strange.
Though there were several teams who reportedly liked Strange picking just after the Patriots within the top 40, taking the guard in the back end of the first round when there are contributors on defense to be had can still be classified as a reach.
