The 2023 NFL Draft set a record for the most number of trades in a single draft. However, among the flurry of first-round trades, the Patriots made a small but unusual swap. Initially drafting at #14, New England dropped back three places in a trade with the Steelers. The Steelers also sent a 2023 fourth-round pick to New England.
The Steelers took Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones with the 14th pick. The Patriots nabbed Oregon corner Christian Gonzalez with the 17th and Maryland kicker Chad Ryland in the fourth round. However, people thought that the Steelers got off lightly in terms of draft compensation to move up in the first. Turns out they did, simply because Bill Belichick hates the New York Jets.
Belichick Gave Steelers An Easy Trade To "Fuck The Jets"
The New York Jets went into the 2023 NFL Draft needing help protecting Aaron Rodgers. However, sitting at #15 with little draft capital, they could only watch as the top o-line prospects were drafted. However, as the clock on the Patriots' #14 pick began, there were a handful of high-quality o-line prospects still on the board. The Pats could have taken an o-lineman here but Bill Belichick loves a cornerback. And then the Pats traded back three spots and the Steelers took an o-lineman. Turns out, Belichick literally did it to fuck over the Jets.
“They should have had to give up a [third-round pick] and not a four to move up there,” one NFL general manager said anonymously to The Washington Post. “Belichick did it just to fuck the Jets. He sold low because he knew the Steelers were going to take the kid the Jets wanted to take.” Belichick has a lot of history with the Jets, both within their organization and facing them as a division rival. Moreover, Belichick could have taken Jones himself, but to him, it was even funnier to watch the Jets lose out of their prospect of choice to someone else entirely. How can you not love sports when there are 71-year-old guys being petty af? Be sure to make HotNewHipHop your number-one place for all things sports.
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