The New England Patriots have been one of the surprise teams so far during the 2025 NFL season. They have won four games in a row to bring their overall record to 5-2, and they are ahead of the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East and currently own the tiebreaker.
3 Players That The Patriots Could Deal For Ahead Of NFL Trade Deadline
And while they’ve exceeded expectations, there are some potential limitations that the front office could look to fix. New England figures to be one of the more active teams before the upcoming trade deadline, and we take a look at three players that the team might have their eyes on:
AJ Brown – WR, Eagles
One of the biggest names in the NFL trade rumor mill has been that of AJ Brown. The Eagles wide receiver was showing frustration with his usage and production over the first handful of games, that there have been assumptions made that he wants out of Philadelphia. This may still be true despite is “breakout” game against the Vikings in Week 7, but there will still be teams calling to gauge his availability.
One of those teams should be the Patriots. They are not only in need of another weapon for quarterback Drake Maye, but they have the future cap space to be able to pull off such a move. If they were able to pair Brown with Stefon Diggs, then New England would have one of the better wide receiver tandems in the AFC.
Chris Olave – WR, Saints
Another wideout that has been widely mentioned in rumors is Chris Olave of the Saints. It has been a lost season for New Orleans as they sit at 1-6 after seven weeks, and could be looking to offload what little talent they have and pick up some draft capital for their rebuild.
Acquiring Olave would be cheaper in both contracts and compensation than a guy like AJ Brown, but he comes with injury risk. He has suffered four concussions in his four-year career thus far, and a total of five including his college years.
Jerome Ford – RB, Browns
The Patriots have a definitive top-2 running back tandem, but they could be looking for depth at the position at the deadline. Antonio Gibson had 27 touches through five games before he tore his ACL in Week 5, and New England could still be in the market for an RB despite multiple practice squad signings.
One back that could be made available is Jerome Ford of the Browns. Cleveland has started rookie Quinshon Judkins in each of the six games that he’s been available, and Ford has just 21 rushing attempts this season because of the demotion. The 26-year-old can still be a valuable piece, though, as he racked up just shy of 2,000 combined scrimmage yards in 2023 and 2024.
