Making a case for Patriots to trade for Emmanuel Ogbah (Update: Traded to Chiefs)

If you’re the Patriots and you need one more defensive lineman, Emmanuel Ogbah could very well be your guy.

Per Adam Schefter, the 25-year-old did not report to the Browns facially for the first day of offseason workouts Monday, and apparently expects to be traded soon. (UPDATE, 4:30 p.m.: The Browns have dealt Ogbah to the Chiefs.) The 6-foot-4, 273-pounder out of Oklahoma State had 40 tackles and there sacks in 14 starts for the Browns last year. A second-round pick in 2016, he has 12.5 sacks in his career.

So should the Patriots be interested?


Despite the context of his current situation — it’s a bad look to not show up for offseason workouts — people in Cleveland say he’s a positive locker room presence and a good teammate. Playing opposite Myles Garrett, those in Cleveland say that while he’s has had his opportunity to make some plays over the last year-plus, he’s occasionally failed to execute. I asked one person who had the chance to watch Ogbah perform over the last three years if he could be the latest example of Bill Belichick wringing something out of a player whose draft status didn’t always match up with expectations.

“Isn’t every guy he gets like that though?” he replied with a laugh.

The thinking here is if you get him in your system — on the last year of his rookie deal — he could be a rotational presence for New England, one with plenty of incentive to play at a high level before heading back into the market in 2020. If the likes of younger defensive ends like Derek Rivers and Keionta Davis aren’t quite ready for prime-time, Ogbah could give you some necessary depth at the position.

From a big picture standpoint, the Patriots are in an offseason where they have lost defensive ends Trey Flowers and Adrian Clayborn. The addition of Michael Bennett is a boost, but when you consider adding Ogbah to a defensive front that includes Bennett, Lawrence Guy and Mike Pennel, it would likely mean you could push defensive line down the priority list when it comes to the draft later this month.

In terms of finances, Ogbah is at the end of his rookie deal, and is slated to make just $1.351 million in base salary for 2019. He’s a relatively cheap pickup, and while the thinking is Ogbah might be looking for a new deal, in New England, he could theoretically be on a one-year, show-me contract that should provide him with incentive to perform so he could land a bigger deal moving forward.

In terms of what it would cost the Patriots, Cleveland GM John Dorsey knows he might be able to drum up a market for the defensive end, but I don’t believe it would be the sort of thing that might dissuade the Patriots from pursuing him between now and draft weekend. If he was acquired with a late Day 2 or Day 3 draft pick, he wouldn’t cost you anything when it came to a comp pick in 2020 — in fact, if he walked, it would count positively toward New England’s comp pick formula next offseason.

Ultimately, Belichick has always had a strange affinity for members of the 2017 Browns, acquiring Kenny Britt, Jason McCourty, Danny Shelton, Corey Coleman and Josh Gordon over the last year-plus, all players who were part of that 0-16 team. While it would be important to manage expectations around the idea of Ogbah if he puts on a New England uniform, provided he joins that group, he'd be a serviceable one-year depth addition for a defensive end position that’s in transition in the post-Flowers era.