Steelers' 1st-Round Trade With Patriots Had Little Hesitation From Bill Belichick

On draft day in 2023, the trade between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots went very smoothly, almost as if something else was happening on the Patriots' end. The Steelers only gave up a first and fourth-round pick to move up a few spots to select Broderick Jones. There was a lot of speculation that the Patriots took the underwhelming return for the sole purpose of screwing over the New York Jets in the process. The Steelers may or may not believe this as well.

Do the Steelers believe the speculation?

Mike Tomlin was asked about the trade with the Patriots on The Rich Eisen Show. While he didn't confirm the theory, he didn't deny it either. Instead, he refused to answer the question at face value. However, he did imply that everyone's speculation was somewhat accurate. 

"I'm not gonna delve into the relationship between New England and the Jets... I'll put it this way, there wasn't a lot of hesitation on New England's end."

With very little hesitation on a trade where the Patriots lost nearly 100 points in draft pick value, it's hard to not consider the speculation at all. One would expect there to be a lot more discussion and negotiation in a trade, especially when the Patriots have more leverage in this situation. Both teams have the player that they want, the Steelers are afraid of the Jets taking them, and the Patriots are probably worried about the Washington Commanders drafting the guy they want, yet it was a quick, easy deal where both teams did get the player they wanted.

How did the trade turn out for all parties involved?

The Steelers got their starting left tackle, and it might only take a few weeks to know how big of a win the trade was for the Steelers. The Steelers even got a replacement for their lost fourth-round pick, as later in the draft, they traded back with the Carolina Panthers and got another fourth rounder, even though it wasn't as high as the one they gave to the Patriots. 

Meanwhile, the Patriots got the guy they wanted with Christian Gonzalez, while also getting an extra pick, so the Patriots and their fans likely aren't too upset about the trade. However, they used their extra pick to move up in the fourth round and draft a kicker. They even traded up with the same team they wanted to screw over, as they gave picks 120 and 184 to the Jets. Letting the Patriots overdraft a kicker might be a small consolation prize for them being so willing to let the Steelers steal their player.

After the Steelers traded ahead of the Jets and drafted Jones, the Jets seemingly panicked and went for a reach by drafting Will McDonald IV at 15th overall. Many teams had other edge rushers higher on their draft boards at the time, but the unexpected trade-up caught the Jets off guard. Instead of getting their future blindside blocker, they had to settle for a player that likely won't start his rookie year due to the Jets having insane depth at the EDGE position.

What do you think of the rumors of the Patriots trading down mainly to make sure the Jets don't get their guy, and Mike Tomlin implying that the rumors are true? Let us know down in the comments.

#SteelerNation.