The Patriots started Friday night with the No. 43 and No. 63 picks in the second round. They had no third-rounder after swinging a trade earlier in the day with the Niners for a tackle named Trent Brown.
That No. 43 selection made its way to New England via a different trade with San Francisco. You might remember it. The Patriots sent their backup quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, to the West Coast last season and picked up San Fran's second-rounder in 2018 -- which eventually became No. 43 -- in return.
But after what happened Friday night, it's not that easy to pin down the precise return on the Garoppolo trade.
All eyes were on that No. 43 pick because of what it represented. Trade away Tom Brady's successor for a second-round pick, and you have to make the most of it, the thinking went.
Surely the Patriots felt the same way. But instead of grabbing a player with No. 43 on Friday, they made a trade.
They moved down the board by dealing No. 43 to the Lions for No. 51 and No. 117. Then they traded No. 51 for a future second-rounder and No. 105.
So, for a moment in time, the Garoppolo trade rendered the Patriots a 2019 second-rounder, as well as No. 105 and No. 117 in the 2018 draft.
New England Patriots
Got it? Jimmy G. for a second and two fourths.
Then . . . another deal. The Patriots traded up from No. 63 -- remember that was one of their picks to start the night -- and No. 117 for Tampa Bay's No. 56 overall pick in this year's draft.
With the No. 56 pick, the Patriots took versatile Florida defensive back Duke Dawson.
OK. Take a deep breath.
Let's figure out the tally on the Garoppolo trade as of late Friday night.
NINERS RECEIVE: JIMMY GAROPPOLO
PATRIOTS RECEIVE: 2019 SECOND-ROUND PICK, 2018 FOURTH-ROUND PICK (NO. 105) . . . plus a little extra juice to help them move up to get Duke Dawson.
How long will this shell game continue? It could go until the end of the second round next year. Maybe longer. They could always trade that 2019 second for another to-be-determined haul.
The bottom line is there won't be one face to slap on the cork board alongside Garoppolo's when talking about that 2017 out-of-nowhere deal. But it looks like there will be a couple. We'll see. And Duke Dawson just became part of a very convoluted answer to a very simple trivia question: What did the Patriots get in return for Jimmy Garoppolo?
UPDATE: The haul for Garoppolo got a little more cloudy on Saturday...
* No. 105 was traded for No. 114 and No. 178
* No. 114 was traded for a 2019 third-rounder
* No. 178 became LB Christian Sam
The final Garoppolo trade tally (for now): 2019 second-rounder, 2019 third-rounder, linebacker Christian Sam and . . . some juice to help the Patriots trade up to land corner Duke Dawson.