NFL Notes: Ranking the Patriots’ top 12 trade assets for the 2025 offseason

Before the Patriots can restock their cupboard this offseason, it’s time to take stock of what’s already inside.

Behold, the Herald’s asset rankings.

This is not a list of the Patriots’ best players, nor their best contracts nor their best draft picks. It is a combined list of 12 players and draft picks that would carry the most value in hypothetical trade talks this offseason.

A player’s trade value weighs his past performance, positional value, contract, age and availability. For example, Pro Bowl-caliber players who are injury prone may carry similar value to those who produce at a lower level but never miss a game. Additionally, if a young player is under a team-friendly contract or rookie deal, his value is higher than a veteran of a similar caliber who is being paid more.

Consider Drake Maye. He plays the most valuable position in the sport, is 22 years old, one season into a cost-controlled rookie contact. His trade value is immensely higher than say Matthew Stafford, even if Stafford is an appreciably better quarterback right now. Stafford turns 37 next week, plays on a more expensive contract and is well into the back nine of his career.

Maye is where we begin our rankings.

All contract information is courtesy of Over the Cap, reflecting both years remaining and total cap hits for the team.

1. QB Drake Maye

Age: 22

Contract: 3 years, $29.98 million left (pending a fifth-year team option)

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye warms up prior to an NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

The crown jewel. The face of the franchise. The most coveted type of asset in all of football.

Maye is one of the most untradable assets in the NFL. If he’s not in the top 10, he’s close; a group that includes only the league’s best quarterbacks and players like Minnesota WR Justin Jefferson, who rank as the best at other premium positions.

Maye’s untapped potential at 22 is one thing. His obvious physical gifts are another. But it was Maye’s play this season, while shouldering the league’s second-worst pass protection and a bottom-5 receiving corps, that speaks loudest. If Maye can already drive and power a hopeless offense by himself, and supply league-average play as a rookie, what can’t he do next?

2. CB Christian Gonzalez

Age: 22

Contract: 2 years, $8.92 million

Would most NFL teams trade the No. 4 overall pick for Christian Gonzalez?

The answer here is yes, which by definition makes Gonzalez more valuable than the Patriots’ last remaining elite asset.

New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez celebrates his interception during a game at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

Like Maye, Gonzalez is only 22. Unlike Maye, he’s already established himself as one of the best players at his position.

Gonzalez earned second-team All-Pro honors this season, often while shadowing opposing No. 1 receivers. He allowed 55.7% of opponents’ passes to be completed in his direction, plus two touchdowns against his two matching interceptions. At 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds with elite athleticism, Gonzalez is capable of matching receivers of all sizes and skill sets.

So long as he stays healthy, Gonzalez isn’t going anywhere.

3. 2025 first-round pick

The Patriots are scheduled to make their first selection at No. 4 overall.

A look at the last dozen players to get drafted fourth overall shows the potential of the pick: WR Marvin Harrison Jr. (Arizona), QB Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis), CB Sauce Gardner (N.Y. Jets), TE Kyle Pitts (Atlanta), OT Andrew Thomas (N.Y. Giants), DE Clelin Ferrell (Las Vegas), CB Denzel Ward (Cleveland), RB Leonard Fournette (Jacksonville), RB Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas), WR Amari Cooper (Oakland/Las Vegas), WR Sammy Watkins (Buffalo) and OT Lane Johnson (Philadelphia).

4. 2025 second-round pick

The onstage video screens display “The Pick Is In” for the New England Patriots during the 2023 NFL Draft, Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Steve Luciano)

The Patriots are projected to make their second selection at 38th overall.

A look at the last dozen players to get drafted fourth overall shows the hit-and-miss nature of the pick: DT T’Vondre Sweat (Tennessee), OT Matthew Bergeron (Atlanta), OLB Arnold Ebiketie (Atlanta), DL Christian Barmore (New England), DE Yetur Gross-Matos (Carolina), OL Cody Ford (Buffalo), RB Ronald Jones (Tampa Bay), OL Forrest Lamp (L.A. Chargers), CB Xavien Howard (Miami), LB Preston Smith (Washington), TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins (Tampa Bay) and LB Manti Te’o (LA Chargers).

5. 2025 third-round pick

The Patriots are projected to make their third selection at 69th overall.

If history is any guide, the Patriots may be able to nab a wide receiver in this spot. In past years, the Texans drafted Tank Dell, the Rams selected Cooper Kupp and the Seahawks picked Tyler Lockett. Other notable picks in the past dozen years include ex-Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu and well-traveled pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue.

6. 2025 third-round pick (via Atlanta)

Atlanta Falcons linebacker Matthew Judon (15) wears his native flag of Nigeria on his helmet for an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Peter Joneleit)

The Patriots are projected to make their fourth selection at 77th overall, an extra third-round pick they added in the Matthew Judon trade this summer.

At this stage of the draft, picks are closer to dart throws, but there have been a few hits. Second-year Rams pass-rusher Byron Young has recorded 15.5 sacks since being drafted. Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard and ex-Jets and current Saints linebacker Demario Davis also heard their names called at 77th overall.

7. DL Christian Barmore

Age: 25

Contract: 4 years, $79.425 million left

The most difficult projection on this list.

At the peak of his powers, Barmore is one of the most destructive defensive tackles in football. If he was at full health, his value might reach a high second-round pick, if not the back end of the first round. Alas, Barmore’s blood clots have clouded his future.

And then comes the matter of living up to the contract. While Barmore’s base salaries are not guaranteed past 2026 and the team could part ways with much penalty after next season, it would be all but impossible to move him before June 1 (presupposing there is any interest in trading him, of which there is none to report).

Back to football.

New England Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore warms up prior to an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Over his last fully healthy season, Barmore finished as the ninth-highest graded defensive tackle in football at Pro Football Focus. He also totaled 8.5 sacks, 16 QB hits and 34 hurries. That player, undoubtedly, is worth more. How soon will we see that Barmore again?

8. 2025 fourth-round pick

Pending compensatory draft picks to be announced later this offseason, the Patriots can expect to make their fourth-round pick around No. 107 overall.

9. DL Keion White

Age: 26

Contract: 2 years, $4.59 million left

An uber talented power player, White’s play fell off over the second half of the season. He tallied four sacks in the first two weeks, then a single sack the rest of the year. His run defense ran hot and cold.

Overall, White can play all three downs on the edge and kick inside for obvious passing situations. But a few factors work against his value: his age for a third-year player, self-admitted struggles in run defense and inconsistency. The tools are there, no doubt. It’s just a matter of putting them all together.

10. TE Hunter Henry

New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry hauls in a pass while defended by New York Jets’ Isaiah Oliver during the fourth quarter of last Sunday’s game. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

Age: 30

Contract: 2 years, $22.4 million left

More solid than spectacular, Henry tied for the team lead in catches and topped all Patriots with 674 receiving yards this season. He’s twice served as the go-to target for a rookie quarterback in New England, first working with Mac Jones and now Maye. Henry is in the back end of his prime, as a proven starter who can play in-line and out in space.

He would be a valuable addition to any offense, though not a veteran most front offices are willing to trade a premium for given his age and contract.

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11. OL Mike Onwenu

Age: 27

Contract: 2 year, $46 million

One year into his rich free-agent deal, Onwenu has disappointed.

He graded as an above-average guard this season at PFF, and regressed as a run-blocker. It didn’t help matters that the Patriots couldn’t settle on a position for him (691 snaps at right guard, 329 at right tackle for him). But Onwenu must play better for someone who ranks as the fifth-highest paid right tackle and third-highest paid right guard in the league by average annual value.

Despite the massive contract, the thinking here is Onwenu’s versatility and previously dominant stretches (at right guard in 2022 and both positions in 2023) provide at least a mid-round value in most teams’ eyes. The guard market boomed last offseason, pushing multiple veterans above the $20 million per year benchmark. Even with his contract, Onwenu would be a wanted man on the trade market.

12. WR DeMario Douglas

Age: 24

Contract: 2 years, $2.24 million

Foxboro, MA – New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas celebrates a touchdown that was called back for a penalty during the fourth quarter the game at Gillette Stadium (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

Douglas’ value likely falls around a fifth-round pick, the same value neighborhood where a few other Patriots might live (a healthy Kyle Dugger and non-fumbling Rhamondre Stevenson, to name two).

But Douglas gets the nod over them here, as a 5-foot-8 jitterbug who tied Henry with a team-high 66 catches. He demonstrated appreciable improvement in Year 2, despite changing quarterbacks and systems. Douglas is a prototypical slot receiver who can project into most offenses.

One concern: his concussion history. Douglas sustained two as a rookie in 2023, and aside from the physical toll football takes on a 179-pound receiver, another blow to the head could prove costly to his career.

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