The New England Patriots wide receiver depth needs some significant upgrades. Chris Hogan is reliable, and Phillip Dorsett and Cordarrelle Patterson showed promise in the third preseason game, but there is nothing behind them. Julian Edelman won’t be around for the first four weeks, and New England needs to find another receiver. Here are some possible New England Patriots wide receiver trade targets for the coming weeks.

Examining Possible New England Patriots Wide Receiver Trade Targets

Golden Tate, Detroit Lions

Golden Tate is just about everything the Patriots want in a wide receiver. The 5’-10”, 197-pound receiver can line up all over the formation but is probably most comfortable in the slot. Since joining the Lions in 2014, Tate has recorded 372 receptions for 4,224 yards and 19 touchdowns. He’s the definition of reliable, having caught somewhere between 90 and 99 passes in each season with the Lions.

The Lions might be willing to let Tate go for the right price. Tate’s in the final season of his contract and Detriot has a solid wide receiving core. The Detroit Lions front office is full of former Patriots, including head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn. Obviously, these men have a working relationship with Bill Belichick, and would certainly be likely to pull off a trade.

The Lions currently have journeyman defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois competing to start at defensive tackle. Jean-Francois spent the duration of 2017 bouncing around multiple teams, including the New England Patriots. Francois shouldn’t be a lock to make the final roster, nevermind start on Week One. Sending over defensive tackle Malcom Brown and a late-round pick would make sense for both sides.

DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are not in a good place right now. After making the playoffs in 2016, quarterback Ryan Tannehill tore his ACL prior to the 2017 season, and the Dolphins floundered to a 6-10 record. Discouraged by the poor season, Miami has gone straight into rebuilding mode. The team watched Ndamukong Suh depart in free agency and traded away top receiver Jarvis Landry. This team isn’t trying to compete this year, and former first-round wide receiver DeVante Parker is rumored to be on the trade block.

While he’s not nearly the player Tate is, Parker has had some success in the NFL. Throughout his career, Parker has 139 receptions for 1,908 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s a perimeter receiver who wouldn’t produce much in the slot, but he’d still fit a need with New England. With only two years left on his contract (including an option year in 2019), Parker should be fairly cheap to acquire. A 4th or 5th -round pick should do it.

Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos

This is the least likely option by a long shot, but it is technically an option. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Broncos are open to shipping Demaryius Thomas, and the Patriots obviously have a need. This would be an interesting fit on paper, as Thomas has had significant success when playing with quarterbacks better than Paxton Lynch and Trevor Siemian.

Thomas averaged 100.5 receptions per season for 1,447 yards from 2012 – 2015 when Peyton Manning was running the offense. While some of that production has naturally dropped off to age, Thomas has been victimized by poor quarterback play in Denver. He’s still been a solid receiver, recording 83 receptions for 949 yards and five touchdowns in 2017. With Tom Brady as his quarterback, his production could rise closer to his early career, although he probably wouldn’t match those numbers of old.

However, the Patriots would have to get creative in order to accommodate Thomas’ salary. As of now, Thomas is currently set to have a $12 million cap hit. Should the Broncos trade him, they would still be responsible for his $3.5 million signing bonus, but the Patriots would have to pay the remaining $8.5 million (thank you, @patscap). The Patriots currently have $8,158,727 in cap space, so Thomas would essentially take up all of the remaining cap. (Update: Following the release of safety Eddie Pleasant, the Patriots now have $9,530,822 in cap space, per @patscap).

The Patriots need to keep at least a few million open on their cap in order to sign players midseason. Additionally, cap space rolls over now, so the less they spend this year, the more they can spend next year. This is significant, as several key players like Trey Flowers and Shaq Mason are set to hit free agency in 2019.

Free Agent Options

While the Patriots most likely addition will come via trade, there are a few interesting free agent options available in Brandon LaFell and Dez Bryant. While Bryant is the better player, LaFell looks to be a better fit at this point in time.

LaFell spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the New England Patriots, so he’s already familiar with the system. During his first season with New England, LaFell recorded 74 receptions for 953 yards and seven touchdowns. His performance was a major reason the Patriots broke their ten-year Super Bowl drought. His production dipped in 2015, but that was mostly due to a foot injury which cost him the early part of the season. He did return, but he never looked completely healthy.

Additionally, LaFell would be significantly cheaper to sign. Bryant is reportedly content to wait out his market, as he recently turned down a one-year deal for almost five million dollars from the Cleveland Browns. LaFell, meanwhile, probably wouldn’t cost more than the veteran’s minimum.

While a LaFell signing is more likely than Bryant, don’t expect either to come to Foxboro anytime soon. Wide receiver has been a need for a while, and yet the Patriots have made no move to sign either. If these players were in the Patriots plans, they’d already be in Foxboro.

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