Minutes before the third day of the 2017 NFL draft was set to begin, the New England Patriots traded with the Kansas City Chiefs and acquired tight end James O’Shaughnessy for a grand total of 33 spots in the draft order.
They traded away all of their original picks in the 2017 draft, by the way.
The Patriots sent the No. 183 pick — the second-to-last pick in the fifth round — to the Chiefs for O’Shaughnessy and the No. 216 pick — the third-to-last selection in the sixth round. That makes the total cost for New England one round later in the draft order to land the tight end.
O’Shaughnessy, 25, was a fifth-round pick two years ago but hasn’t done much during his NFL career. In two seasons with the Chiefs, he has eight receptions for 86 yards. But even with the low cost of the trade, the Patriots will need much more production to make the swap worthwhile.
The Patriots have been active on the draft-day trade market — swapping every one of their 2017 selections at some point. Getting O’Shaughnessy is just the latest of Bill Belichick’s lengthy history of tinkering via trades.