Patriots Trade Logan Mankins for Tim Wright – Plus 4th Round Picks

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost their best offensive lineman when Carl Nicks retired over the offseason. This line is very good in places, with solid bookend tackles in LT Anthony Collins and RT Demar Dotson and the talented C Evan Dietrich-Smith. But it was been clear on paper, and showcased with poor preseason play, that the Buccaneers desperately need someone to replace Nicks and fill in the other guard spot as well.

The Buccaneers addressed this issue Tuesday, August 27th, through a deal with the New England Patriots. The Patriots have traded accomplished guard Logan Mankins for tight end Tim Wright and a 4th round draft pick.

This looks to be a good deal on both sides, perhaps slightly favoring New England. Yes, the Patriots are losing a player who made the Pro Bowl six times. They are also getting rid of a player who is now 32 years old. At that age, Mankins may still have a couple years of good play left him, but he is basically a ticking time-bomb. At any point during any future season his production could suddenly fall off a cliff simply due to age. He can’t keep it up forever.

Enough of what the Patriots gave up: let’s look at what they got. Tim Wright is a fairly unknown player in the league. He joined the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2013 and converted from wide receiver to tight end. With a 6’ 4” and 220 lb. frame, Wright is certainly built more like a receiver than a blocker. While he hasn’t shown much on the field, he is just 24 years old, which gives him much more upside than the departed Mankins.

The real value in this trade for New England is the 4th round draft pick, just short of being a Day 2 selection. Depending on how the Buccaneers perform, this trade could give New England one of the first 100 players off the board in 2015.

The Buccaneers just got an immediate, if short term, upgrade on their o-line. The Patriots got some building blocks for the future. Considering how high they drafted QB Jimmy Garappolo (a wise choice based on his preseason play), the Patriots seem to be thinking a lot about the future lately.

 

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