With a big looming decision to either keep or trade star cornerback Stephon Gilmore it may mean many things for the Patriots. Pending the decision it may shakeup a lot of things on the defense and cause major change on the 2021 Patriots roster.
Opportunity to gain Draft Capital:
With the 2021 NFL draft coming up a possible Gilmore trade would be the perfect way to pick up draft capital. Being defensive player of the year in 2019 may mean that teams would be willing to give up significant draft capital to obtain his skills. Getting more picks in this draft would give more opportunity to build this team for the future.
Opportunity to gain veteran talent:
One of the things that the Patriots lack especially on offense is veteran talent. Veteran talent would be especially helpful for the Patriots in the tight end position where they’re lacking talent. Some trade options would be David Njoku and Zach Ertz as of right now.
Defensive lineup changes:
When losing a big defensive talent on defense Like Stephon Gilmore, it will cause a lot of lineup changes. Other cornerbacks on the team will have to move up in the depth chart. Even though Gilmore would be gone, there will still be a lot of talent in the secondary like J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones, Devin McCourty, Adrian Phillips, and rookie standout Kyle Dugger. All those players are capable of stepping up to play a bigger role on defense to all fill the void of Stephon Gilmore.
Trading Stephon Gilmore seems like it would be a big opportunity to add talent to this team which needs it. With Gilmore having such a good track record in the NFL there is a very strong chance that teams would either be willing to give up major talent or major draft capital to get Gilmore.