The New England Patriots have been urged to swing a trade for this two-time Pro Bowl wide receive to help Drake Maye.
The New England Patriots have added Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins this offseason, but they still need to bring in more wide receivers for Drake Maye.
The general expectation is that the Patriots will take care of their need for more pass-catchers in the NFL Draft, but New England could still explore some trade opportunities.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox recently presented one, naming Carolina Panthers receiver Adam Thielen as a potential target for the Pats.
“The New England Patriots could look to support second-year quarterback Drake Maye by adding an experienced receiver like Thielen,” Knox wrote. “New England did add Stefon Diggs in free agency, but he’s coming off of a torn ACL. Thielen could give the Patriots a little more veteran insurance, and he has experience under passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, who was the Panthers offensive coordinator in 2023.”
Injuries limited Thielen to just 10 games this past year, but during his time on the field, he was productive, catching 48 passes for 615 yards and five touchdowns.
The two-time Pro Bowler has posted three 1,000-yard campaigns since entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent back in 2014, most recently doing so in 2023.
However, Thielen is 34 years old, so he doesn’t really fit the Patriots’ timeline. Plus, you have to wonder about his durability moving forward.
There is no question that New England must acquire some more playmakers for Maye, but this upcoming draft class is very deep at wide receiver. The Pats could simply draft a wide out or two in order to make life easier for Maye in 2025 and beyond.
Thielen is certainly an interesting candidate, but he would make more sense for a contender rather than a New England squad that just recorded back-to-back four-win seasons.