by Ladd McConkey makes Patriots’ 2024 draft trade look worse by the day originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had a notoriously poor track record of selecting wide receivers in the early rounds of the NFL Draft.
It appears that Eliot Wolf is continuing this tradition.
Chargers rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey had six catches for 87 yards in Los Angeles’ win over the Denver Broncos on Thursday night, marking eight consecutive games with at least 50 receiving yards. This is the longest such winning streak by a rookie since Odell Beckham Jr., who was named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2014.
What do McConkey’s accomplishments have to do with the Patriots? Well, the Chargers acquired McConkey thanks to a 2024 NFL Draft deal with New England that saw the Patriots send the 34th and 137th overall picks to Los Angeles in exchange for the 37th and 110th picks.
Here’s how both teams used these picks:
Let’s compare the stats of these players, shall we?
McConkey has 69 catches on 94 targets for 960 yards with five touchdowns in 14 games, ranking ninth among all NFL pass catchers and second among rookie pass catchers, behind only Brock Bowers. The Georgia native has recorded at least five catches in 10 different games and at least 50 receiving yards in nine games.
Still, the Chargers’ fifth-round pick out of Maryland has played 12 games as a cornerback for Los Angeles with 10 starts and four interceptions – tied for second among all rookies – as well as 10 pass breakups, a pick-six, 51 tackles and half a sack .
As for Polk and Baker? Polk has 12 catches on 32 targets for 87 yards and two touchdowns seasonwhile Baker recorded zero catches on one target in eight games played. (For those keeping score at home, McConkey had as many receiving yards as Polk and Baker on Thursday night against Denver combined this whole season.)
The context should be noted here: McConkey is catching passes from a Pro Bowl quarterback (Justin Herbert) in a strong offense that has a decent offensive line. The Patriots have arguably the worst offensive line in football and no top-tier receiver talent to speak of, so it’s hard to imagine McConkey putting up such eye-popping numbers if he were in New England this season.
However, we can’t ignore the fact that the Chargers turned the two picks they received from New England into two quality Pro Bowl-caliber players, while the Patriots essentially failed to produce with their two picks, which is the case with both was also having problems off the field.
Wolf may have hit a home run with Drake Maye at No. 3, but the rest of his first draft leading the Patriots’ front office has been a disaster so far.
