Patriots' Trade for Mohamed Sanu is Turning Out to Be One of the Most Unlucky We've Ever Seen

Former Atlanta Falcons wide receiver is a Rutgers alum who loves to line up in the slot and is terrific as a runner with the ball in his hands. Sounds like a perfect New England Patriots receiver, right?

What should have been a perfect marriage was rocky from the word go, as Sanu suffered an ankle injury in his third game as a Patriot that sapped his explosion and will now require surgery.

New England gave up a second-round pick to bring Sanu in, and some bad luck has helped the Falcons make off like bandits in this deal.

Sanu recorded 81 yards on 10 catches in his second game as a Patriot, but he managed just 12 catches for 99 yards in the five games he played after he suffered his injury. Meanwhile, Atlanta gets a second-round pick to rebuild their running game and pass rush in a draft that is full of quality options on both of those fronts.

Sanu failed to elevate the Patriots' passing game this past season, which many would argue helped contribute to the team's disappointing season. With hopes of the veteran being back at full strength in 2020 to help assist Tom Brady, assuming he returns to New England, he's now expected to be on the shelf even longer after going under the knife in a procedure many weren't expecting to happen.

Lady Luck is almost always on New England's side, but an injury to Sanu robbed the Patriots of both a No. 2 receiver and a second-round pick in one fell swoop. On top of that, he may not even be ready to redeem himself with the Pats in his contract year.