For New Englanders, the Patriots making a trade during the NFL Draft can seem as much an annual rite of spring as Opening Day for the Red Sox.
Entering the 2017 draft, the team had made at least one draft-day trade every year since Bill Belichick became head coach in 2000 (57 in total), with the exception of 2004. As Michael Holley pointed out in Patriot Reign, Belichick uses draft picks like currency: “You could stalk the board, going forward or in reverse, getting who you wanted and where you wanted them.