The New England Patriots have been largely quiet through the first few days of the legal tampering period. However, it does appear that the team has been actively looking for talent at the wide receiver position to help boost its offense heading into the 2023 campaign. The club has called the Arizona Cardinals regarding possibly trading for DeAndre Hopkins along with the Denver Broncos regarding Jerry Jeudy's availability, according to The Athletic.
The Patriots have also expressed interest in free agent wideout Odell Beckham Jr., as evidenced by attending his workout last week. So, Bill Belichick is scouring the market for pass-catching help, but, as this latest report from The Athletic notes, the price point does remain the key component to any deal getting done.
This report comes off the heels of the Patriots losing wide receiver Jakobi Meyers in free agency as he has agreed to join the Las Vegas Raiders. Even if they were able to retain Meyers (who was their leading receiver in 2022), New England needed to add another receiver, so that compounds the need even more.
Hopkins has been a popular target for the Patriots considering Belichick's public admiration for the player. Leading up to their Week 14 matchup with Arizona last season, the head coach gave a glowing review of Hopkins and even said that "he's every bit as good as anybody I've ever coached against." Of course, there's also familiarity between Hopkins and recently hired offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien stemming back to their shared time in Houston with the Texans.
As for Jeudy, he presents a younger option with possibly a higher long-term upside. He was a former first-round pick of the Broncos back in 2020 and has flashed that potential over his first three seasons in the league. The 23-year-old is coming off a career year with Denver in 2022, notching career highs in receptions (67), receiving yards (972), and touchdowns (six).
New England does own the No. 14 overall pick at the 2023 NFL Draft, but it's unclear if that'll be the type of chip the Patriots want to part with even if that means landing one of these pass catchers. The Patriots also have five other picks inside the top 150 of this year's draft, including No. 46 overall in the second round.
When it comes to Beckham, he is another player who's long been a fan-favorite target for New England, and the receiver has expressed his admiration for Belichick in the past. He's coming off a lost season in 2022 after suffering a torn ACL in Super Bowl LVII with the Rams, but if he can return to the player he was with L.A. he'd also be a difference-maker in this offense.
New England had the worst red zone offense in the NFL last season while its passing offense ranked 23rd in DVOA, so any one of these players would be a tremendous help.
