New England Patriots Rumors: Top 5 receiver targets to entice Tom Brady

If the New England Patriots are to re-sign Tom Brady, here are five stud wide receivers they can obtain to make the 42-year-old QB happy.

So, if you haven’t heard, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is hitting free agency for the first time in his career and the NFL world is buzzing with speculation.

Will the 42-year-old quarterback diss the only team he has played for this offseason and joining a team like *gasp* the Las Vegas Raiders?  How about Mike Vrabel and the Tennessee Titans or the Los Angeles Chargers?

There’s a chance Jerry Jones may even get in the mix and lure Brady to the Dallas Cowboys.

Well, the Raiders have the money to throw at him, but what those other teams have is good offensive lines and playmakers who would make life easier for Tom Brady at this stage of his career.

But, what none of those teams have that the New England Patriots have is a system that Brady is used to.  Even with a lack of weapons, Brady has a familiarity with the coaching and playbook that would be hard to replicate somewhere else.

While its possible Tom Brady has played his last game in a Patriots’ uniform, it is extremely unlikely that the combination of Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick would let him walk if they didn’t still believe he can still lead the team to Super Bowl glory.

What it’s going to take to lure him back is both a viable contract and a guarantee that he will be surrounded with some weapons.  The tight end position is one need, but here is a list of wide receivers who could entice Tom Brady to return to the place where he has won six Super Bowl titles.

A little forewarning: None of the players are named Antonio Brown.

Emmanuel Sanders via free agency

Let’s start with the one wide receiver most New England Patriots fans want to see catch the ball from Tom Brady.

As one of the top free agent wide receivers in 2020, it would appear the Patriots will finally have their shot at the 32-year-old Sanders, who showed he is still a top playmaker with his performance with the San Francisco 49ers in 2019 after being traded from the Denver Broncos.

In 10 games with the 49ers, Emmanuel Sanders had 36 receptions for 502 yards and 3 touchdowns.  That was head and shoulders above the production the Patriots got from Mohamed Sanu, a player they got instead of Sanders at the NFL Trade Deadline.

Given the fact that the Patriots once targeted Sanders when he was a restricted free agent, there is no doubt they will kick the tires of a playmaker who would bond instantly on the field with Brady and be a nice compliment to Julian Edelman.

If the New England Patriots are out to make Tom Brady happy and entice him to re-sign with the team, surrounding him with a playmaker like Emmanuel Sanders will certainly make the 42-year-old quarterback smile.

Odell Beckham Jr. via trade

If Odell Beckham Jr. would welcome a trade to the New York Jets of all teams, he would be over the moon if he was traded to the New England Patriots to play with Tom Brady.

Furthermore, if Bill Belichick is willing to put up with a personality like Antonio Brown, any off-the-field problem Beckham Jr. has would seem minor, especially if his addition would help lure Brady back to where he belongs.

In other words, don’t rule out yet another deal between the Patriots and Browns that finally lands the 27-year-old wide receiver in Foxborough.

With a remaining contract that is manageable, Odell Beckham Jr. would have every incentive to be on his best behavior while playing under Belichick.  As far as playing with Brady, well the superstar wide receiver has expressed his desire to play with the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback and has openly lauded how the Patriots organization is run.

As far as productivity goes, Beckham had 74 receptions for 1,035 yards catching the ball from Baker Mayfield in 2019 and that was despite playing with a leg injury almost the entire year.

Still in his prime, trading for Odell Beckham Jr. is the kind of move that works for both sides.  It gives Beckham another clean slate and gives Tom Brady an explosive target to play with.  It would also give the Patriots an exciting playmaker for the next few years.

Bill Belichick has a few third-round picks to play with.  Offering one of those and perhaps a player may be enough for the Cleveland Browns to rid themselves of the personality known as Odell.

Cooper Kupp via trade

There is an interesting situation brewing out there in Los Angeles that may benefit the New England Patriots in some way.

No, I’m not talking about the possibility of Tom Brady signing with the Los Angeles Chargers, the Rams will have to choose between some key players who are hitting free agency in 2021.

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With players like Jalen Ramsey, Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp up for big pay days, SI.com writer Max McAuliffe suggested the Patriots make a deal with the Rams to bring Kupp to New England.

Due to the Rams not having much draft capital in the next couple seasons, they may dangle Woods or Kupp to a wide receiver hungry team like the Patriots.  While Robert Woods is actually the name that has been rumored in the past when it comes to New England, Cooper Kupp would be ideal.

A young, rising star who is great in the slot with supreme route-running skills catching the ball from Tom Brady?

Not only have we seen that story before with Wes Welker, but Julian Edelman has excelled in that role within the New England Patriots offense.  Coming off a season in which he hauled in 94 receptions for 1,161 yards, Cooper Kupp is not only the ultimate Edelman replacement, he would be in the center of the Patriots offense for years to come, even beyond Tom Brady’s playing days.

It seems unbelievable that the Rams would even entertain the thought, but they could have no other choice and that’s where the New England Patriots could capitalize.

A 2020 first round pick could get it done if Bill Belichick feels it’s worth taking a shot at a young player with one-year left on his rookie deal.  But, he did that before with Brandin Cooks, who he ironically traded to the Rams for a first-round pick.

Amari Cooper via free agency

The New England Patriots simply don’t throw big money at wide receivers in free agency, but Bill Belichick could shock the world by landing top free agent wide receiver Amari Cooper.

Like most other names on this list, Cooper was linked in rumors with the Patriots during his days with the Oakland Raiders before he was finally shipped to the Dallas Cowboys before the trade deadline in 2018.

Take away that game in which Stephon Gilmore completely shut him down and Cooper was certainly a top receiver in the NFL in 2019.  He hauled in 79 receptions for 1,189 yards with 8 touchdowns.  He was not only a big target in the Cowboys’ offense, he was unstoppable at times.

Imagine him in a New England Patriots uniform and the things he can do catching the ball from Tom Brady.

As unrealistic as the Patriots throwing money at Amari Cooper may seem, it would be the kind of move Brady would take less money for the team to achieve.

Amari Cooper, N’Keal Harry, Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu and a good tight end is obviously a major upgrade.  Like Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr., Cooper’s age would make him a top option for years to come.

Okay, this one may just be a pipe dream.

Stefon Diggs via trade

Where there’s smoke, there is usually some heat when it comes to the NFL and trade rumors.

If you don’t want to give up a 2020 first round pick for Cooper Kupp, then how about Minnesota Vikings star receiver Stefon Diggs?

Yes, there are rumblings again as the 26-year-old wide receiver has social media buzzing with a cryptic tweet that “things (are) getting interesting.”  What that means, no one knows, but it is fun to start speculating, even with NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero calming down the smoke with a report that the Vikings have no intention on parting ways with Diggs.

"“This is Diggs being Diggs,” Pelissero said, via NFL.com.  “Everyone knows that there is a level of maintenance that’s needed to happen with Stefon, going back to his days at the University of Maryland.”"

Sounds like he is in need of a coach like Bill Belichick and a quarterback like Tom Brady.  Once he gets a whiff of the “Patriot Way” all that “maintenance” may not be so necessary.

As a No. 1 target in New England, perhaps Stefon Diggs will find similar historic production as another former Vikings high maintenance receiver did back in 2007 in the name of Randy Moss.

This could be another pipe dream as the Vikings feel they are in position to win now with a player like Diggs, but you better believe coach Bill Belichick is monitoring the situation.  As for Tom Brady, he would be salivating if the New England Patriots pulled off such a move.