{"id":872407,"date":"2026-04-23T03:36:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T03:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/872407\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T03:36:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T03:36:19","slug":"patriots-wr-emerges-as-surprise-trade-piece-during-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/872407\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots WR Emerges as Surprise Trade Piece During NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-898774372-e1652386809566.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"New England Patriots\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>New England Patriots<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/new-england-patriots\/\" title=\"New England Patriots\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"234861\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New England Patriots<\/a> reportedly have a compensation price in mind for wide receiver Kayshon Boutte. Sports Illustrated\u2019s Albert Breer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/albert-breer-latest-nfl-draft-buzz-which-teams-could-trade-out-of-their-picks#inline-text-4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">reported this on Wednesday evening.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Boutte has been the subject of trade rumors over the past couple days. <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/new-england-patriots\/vrabel-addresses-absence-voluntary-workouts\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bleacher Report\u2019s Jordan Schultz<\/a> noted that the Patriots would be open to moving the wide receiver. These rumors have only intensified with the first round of the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/\" title=\"NFL\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"234862\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NFL<\/a> draft happening on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Breer noted on Wednesday exactly what the Patriots will be looking for if they were to trade the wide receiver. \u00a0He elaborated on it in his pre-draft column, as a highly anticipated draft is about to get underway.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-19\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\">Some veteran names could be moved over the next couple of days, and one to watch is Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, who\u2019s shown promise through three years, with 76 catches for 1,140 yards and nine touchdowns in 29 games over the past two years. New England\u2019s looking for a Day 3 pick for the 23-year-old, who is entering a contract year.<\/p>\n<p>Patriots Playmaker Had Impact Season<\/p>\n<p>Boutte had a tremendous 2025 season. He was a bona fide weapon for the Patriots\u2019 offense, and he was a favorite target of quarterback Drake Maye. He recorded 33 catches for 551 yards and six touchdowns last season. The LSU product also showed his ability to stretch the field, as he averaged a staggering 14.7 yards per reception. A hamstring injury sidelined him for multiple weeks over the course of the season. Even still, he was able to establish himself as a reliable and dependable big-play threat.<\/p>\n<p>That only continued in the playoffs. He was able to accumulate 20 targets over the course of four games. The playmaker accumulated 168 postseason yards. He started off this stretch strong when the Patriots took on the<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/los-angeles-chargers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Los Angeles Chargers<\/a>. He had four catches on four targets for 66 yards.<\/p>\n<p>His success continued in the divisional round against the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/houston-texans\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Houston Texans<\/a>. In that game, he recorded five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown itself helped pad the Patriots\u2019 lead in the game.<\/p>\n<p>His performance over the next stretch of games would be a bit quieter. He recorded a combined two catches for 11 yards against the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/denver-broncos\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Denver Broncos<\/a> in the AFC Championship Game and the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/seattle-seahawks\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Seattle Seahawks<\/a> in Super Bowl LX. Even still, he established himself as a reliable postseason playmaker. He went from being a promising receiver to a savvy veteran who could make things happen after the catch.<\/p>\n<p>Patriots Could Move Him At Right Time<\/p>\n<p>Now, the Patriots could look at trading him during the draft. This could be a smart move at this point in time. His value is extremely high as both a veteran playmaker and dependable receiver. The wide receiver\u2019s statistics have increased each year, and he is in a position to really take that next step. It\u2019s reasonable to think that the Patriots\u2019 asking price is not too high for a receiver of his caliber.<\/p>\n<p>Although it would be difficult to see him go, given the fact that his career has blossomed with the Patriots, it may be a necessary evil. It will be interesting to see if he will be used as a trade piece over the next couple of days or if he will stay put. Additional draft capital may be something that the Patriots could utilize over the next couple of days and a trade could be imminent. It\u2019s all part of the fun of the NFL draft.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/dannyjaillet\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Danny Jaillet<\/a> Danny Jaillet is a sportswriter with more than 15 years experience in the industry. He has been featured on Fox Sports, USA Today, and Yahoo Sports among others. He graduated from Worcester State University with a  B.A. in communications and a minor in writing. <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/dannyjaillet\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Danny Jaillet<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Patriots\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty New England Patriots The New England Patriots reportedly have a compensation price in mind for wide receiver&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":856134,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2050],"tags":[7,1167,249,2326,2094,6,208],"class_list":{"0":"post-872407","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-england-patriots","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-new-england","10":"tag-new-england-patriots","11":"tag-newengland","12":"tag-newenglandpatriots","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-patriots"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116451933827864676","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=872407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872407\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=872407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=872407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=872407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}