Does Bill Belichick know what he’s doing with wide receiver trades? It depends

Bill Belichick knows how to make a splash with trades. Whether it’s trading up in the draft, trading down in the draft, trading draft picks for players, or trading players for players, the Patriots have always shown a willingness to swap assets with other teams around the league.

Some have been better than others, but Belichick doesn’t mind taking risks when it comes to trades.

New England recently made noise at receiver by trading for Josh Gordon from the Cleveland Browns, so we decided to take a look at all of the trades that the Patriots have made for wide receivers since Belichick was put in charge back in 2000.

Who?

Doug Gabriel didn’t have a long stay in New England after he was traded for a fifth-round pick. In 12 games with the Patriots, Gabriel had 30 catches for 428 yards and 3 touchdowns. Gabriel didn’t even finish the season with the Patriots — he was released in mid-December of 2006. After his release, he rejoined the Oakland Raiders through the end of the season.

Even though the Gabriel didn’t do much for the Patriots, giving up a fifth-rounder for any player isn’t a big deal. This trade was largely inconsequential.

Grade: C

The Patriots’ trade for Randy Moss wound up being one of the biggest heists in NFL history. After joining New England in 2007, Moss scored an NFL record 23 touchdowns as the Patriots rolled through their competition for the first 16-0 season in NFL history. They couldn’t seal the deal in Super Bowl XLII, but Moss still had a season for the ages.

A fourth-round pick for a first ballot Hall of Famer still in his prime? Steal.

Grade: A+

After spending the first four years of his career with the Patriots from 2002-2005, the Patriots traded Branch to the Seahawks for a first-round pick. Four years later, the Patriots sent a fourth-round pick to Seattle to bring Branch back to New England.

Branch had two seasons of over 700 yards in his return to New England — that’s a pretty good use of a fourth-rounder.

Grade: C+

Chad Johnson didn’t do anything with the Patriots after they traded for him. Johnson was active for 15 games and started 3 of them, yet he only caught 15 passes for 276 yards and a touchdown. There are worse ways to use two fifth-round picks, but that output from Johnson was pretty disappointing considering he was just two years removed from a 1000 yard season before that. This also ended up being Johnson’s last season in the league.

Grade: C-

Greg Salas played in one game for the Patriots, but they traded a seventh-round pick for him. Salas did have success as a rookie in 2011 when he caught 27 of his 38 targets for 264 yards, so maybe they thought they could rekindle what talent he had. Didn’t work out for then, but the cost was tiny to try it out.

Grade: C-

Keshawn Martin ended up being a special teams performer for the Patriots after he was traded there. He didn’t do much on offense, catching eight passes for 92 yards. He did have a 75-yard kick return, which is pretty neat. Swapping picks on the third day of the draft for a special teamer doesn’t really matter.

Grade: C

This is the only trade for a wide receiver that Belichick has made involving a first-round pick. Brandin Cooks’ one-year stint with the Patriots was a bit of a roller coaster. Cooks had his issues with drops, but he was a source of explosive plays for New England throughout the season. Among all players with 50 targets last season, Cooks ranked 9th in yards per target.

This trade needs a little added context because the Patriots ended up flipping Cooks for a first-rounder when they traded for the Rams. They essentially deferred their first-round pick for a year with the Cooks trade — that’s a solid deal for both the Saints and the Patriots.

Grade: B

This trade wound up being inconsequential for the Patriots. Jacoby Brissett likely didn’t have a future with the Patriots, so they flipped him for Phillip Dorsett. Perhaps the Patriots thought they could jumpstart Dorsett’s (a former first-round pick) career by pairing him with Tom Brady, but that hasn’t happened. In 17 games with the Patriots, Dorsett has 24 catches for 304 yards and a touchdown.

The Colts had a much bigger need for Brissett than New England did in the wake of Andrew Luck’s injury and Scott Tolzein’s brutal season opening game against the Rams last year. Indianapolis got a great backup quarterback option to Andrew Luck and New England got what should be a decent depth option at receiver. The trade left the Patriots with Brian Hoyer as their backup quarterback.

Grade: C

Cordarrelle Patterson has only been with the Patriots for three games. Through three games, Patterson has four receptions for 24 yards and four carries for 18 yards. Patterson likely won’t get too much work this year with Josh Gordon in the fold, but he’ll help on special teams in the return game. Patterson has two kick returns this year for 44 yards.

Grade: TBD

Josh Gordon is one of the most talented receivers in the NFL, but he’s largely been unavailable to play through years of suspensions. This is a worthwhile trade for the Patriots no matter the outcome. If Gordon flops, they’ll still be one of the best teams in the league. If he hits and returns back to his 2013 form when he led the league in receiving despite playing in 14 games (and catching passes from Brandon Weeden), then the Patriots offense will be borderline unstoppable. Gordon and Gronkowski have a ton of potential as duo, hopefully Gordon can stay clean and live up to his enormous potential.

All eyes will be on Josh Gordon as he takes the field for the Patriots Sunday night. Belichick has had success trading for proven names outside of Chad Johnson, so maybe this Gordon trade will work out for both parties.

Grade: TBD

None of Belichick’s investments have been too serious outside of the Brandin Cooks trade. Landing Randy Moss for a fourth-round pick, getting an elite season from him, and trading him for a second-round pick a few years later is the type of move that’s kept the Patriots relevant for so long. Well, that and the quarterback wearing #12.