The New England Patriots entered the 2025 NFL Draft with nine selections in hand, including a pair of picks acquired as part of trades made two head coaches ago. In 2023, when Bill Belichick was still running operations as head coach and general manager, the team picked up the 217th and 238th choices in the seventh round.
The first of those selections was involved in a trade sending kicker Nick Folk to the Tennessee Titans; the second came to Foxborough as part of cornerback J.C. Jackson returning to his former team. The trades themselves were quite simple in nature, but they spawned a variety of follow-up moves.
With the draft in the books, we can take a close look at all of those to find out how two relatively low-profile trades helped pave the way for some interesting results.
Nick Folk traded to Titans
The team’s kicker since 2019, Folk was let go in August 2023 in favor of then-rookie Chad Ryland. The selection coming back to New England as part of the trade that sent Folk to Tennessee was later attached to quarterback Joe Milton and sent to the Dallas Cowboys — a move that set the stage for two follow-up trades.
Patriots trade results
After moving No. 217 to Dallas, the Patriots received the 171st overall pick in the fifth round of this year’s draft. That selection was then traded to the Detroit Lions for 6-182 and 7-228; the second of those picks was later sent to the Kansas City Chiefs for 7-251 and 7-257. When all was said and done, the following players had found their way to One Patriot Place:
- K Andres Borregales (6-182)
- LS Julian Ashby (7-251)
- CB Kobee Minor (7-257)
Andres Borregales and Julian Ashby could very well play massive roles for the Patriots in 2025 and beyond. The former is one of two place kickers currently on the team’s roster, and set to compete for the place kicker job with John Parker Romo — a poetic acquisition given who New England traded away to get into its possession in the first place. Ashby, meanwhile, looks set for the long snapper role after the team released veteran Joe Cardona.
Kobee Minor, meanwhile, was the final pick in the draft. He will compete for a depth role on defense and in the kicking game but seemingly is facing a far steeper uphill climb than Borregales and Ashby.
Titans trade results
From the Titans’ perspective, the trade is pretty straight forward. The team brought in kicker Nick Folk, with no additional draft capital involved.
- K Nick Folk
Folk ended up spending the 2023 and 2024 seasons in Tennessee, playing 31 total games and putting up some impressive numbers: he made 50 of 52 field goal attempts (96.2%) and 53 of 55 extra points (96.4%). For comparison, New England’s kickers — Chad Ryland and Joey Slye — completed only 42 of 58 combined field goals over that span (72.4%) as well as 49 of 51 PATs (96.1%).
Interestingly enough, the 40-year-old Folk remains unsigned as a free agent at the moment. Tennessee, meanwhile, picked up Joey Slye after he was not retained by the Patriots in free agency earlier this offseason.
Other trade results
The Patriots’ follow-up trades after acquiring the 171st selection from the Titans resulted in four players being moved to different teams — starting with Joe Milton to the Cowboys.
- Dallas Cowboys: QB Joe Milton III
- Dallas Cowboys: DT Jay Toia (7-217)
- Detroit Lions: OL Miles Frazier (5-171)
- Kansas City Chiefs: RB Brashard Smith (7-228)
Dallas used the second pick involved in the Joe Milton trade on defensive tackle Jay Toia, while the Lions added Miles Frazier to the mix following their own trade with New England for No. 171; Frazier spent the last three years on the same LSU offensive line as Patriots first-round draft pick Will Campbell.
Finally, Kansas City acquired receiver-turned-running back Brashard Smith at No. 228; Smith was seen as a potential Patriots target but the need for a speedd back was satisfied when the team drafted TreVeyon Henderson in the second round.
J.C. Jackson acquired from Chargers
An undrafted free agent in 2018, J.C. Jackson had developed into one of the league’s best cornerbacks and its premier ballhawk when he entered free agency in March 2022. He ended up signing a five-year, $82.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Chargers but failed to live up to expectations due to a mix of usage and injury. He was traded back to the Patriots in October 2023, after the team had lost Christian Gonzalez to a season-ending shoulder injury.
Patriots trade results
At first glance, the Patriots trading for Jackson looks pretty straight forward: the team brought in one player and one draft pick, that was later turned into one player. If only it were that simple.
- J.C. Jackson
- DT Joshua Farmer (5-137)
Jackson’s second stint in New England was a disappointment. He played eight games, was then left home from an overseas trip to Germany, and ultimately was sent to the reserve/non-football illness list in December. Jackson was released the following March, and has not signed another NFL contract since.
As for Joshua Farmer, he was added via a trade-up with the Seattle Seahawks. New England sent the 144th overall pick in the fifth round as well as the one originally attached to Jackson to Seattle (No. 238 in the seventh) to the Seahawks to acquire the defensive tackle.
Chargers trade results
The Chargers played this one pretty straight, right? No. They too decided to move the draft choice they got out of the Jackson trade before ending up with one player.
- TE Oronde Gadsden II (5-165)
In order to add Oronde Gadsden in the fifth round, the Chargers sent two picks — 6-181 and 6-209 — to the Philadelphia Eagles. Gadsden is one of three rookie tight ends joining the team over the last week.
Other trade results
As part of the follow-up trades from the Jackson move, five more selections exchanged hands — including one invested in one of the biggest names in this year’s draft: Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
- Seattle Seahawks: WR Tory Horton (5-166)
- Seattle Seahawks: OL Bryce Cabeldue (6-192)
- Seattle Seahawks: WR Ricky White III (7-238)
- Cleveland Browns: QB Shedeur Sanders (5-144)
- Philadelphia Eagles: QB Kyle McCord (6-181)
- Philadelphia Eagles: ED Antwaun Powell-Ryland (6-209)
After getting two picks from the Patriots on Day 3, the Seahawks made another trade — moving down the board when the Cleveland Browns opted to trade up for Sanders. That trade resulted in one of the biggest stories of the draft coming to an end as well as two youngsters joining the Seahawks’ rebuilt wide receiver room and a backup offensive lineman arriving in New
The Eagles, meanwhile, went for depth pieces on offense and defense with the two selections they obtained from the Chargers. With those two, 17 total players were involved with the two transactions.
