New England acquired punter Jim Benien from Detroit on July…
New England acquired punter Jim Benien from Detroit on July 31, 1972 and sent the Lions its 1973 fifth-round choice. Multiple later Patriots media guides identify the compensation as a fifth-rounder, while one older guide lists a fourth. New England retained and used its own fourth-round pick, supporting the fifth-round account. The exact conveyed fifth-round selection remains unidentified, and Detroit receives a slight value edge without inventing it.
Detroit Lions Received
- pick 1973 fifth round pick (selection not identified)
New England Patriots Received
- player Jim Benien
Trade Analysis
The Exchange
New England acquired Oklahoma State punter Jim Benien from Detroit on July 31, 1972. The compensation was the Patriots' 1973 fifth-round choice. Several later New England media guides describe a fifth-round pick, while one older guide lists a fourth-rounder. New England retained and used its own fourth-round selection at No. 82, which supports the fifth-round account. The exact fifth-round selection conveyed to Detroit remains unidentified. Detroit Lions Return Detroit received future draft capital for a punter it was willing to move. A fifth-round pick in the early 1970s carried meaningful but uncertain value, and the absence of a confidently identified final selection limits how specifically the Lions' outcome can be graded. The important point is that Detroit obtained a real draft asset rather than a named player that cannot be supported by the available records. New England Patriots Return The Patriots received Benien and addressed a specialist position with a player who had already reached the professional level. New England knew the role it was buying, but it paid a mid-to-late round future choice to do so. Without assigning an unsupported downstream pick to Detroit, the Patriots' side is best viewed as a modest veteran acquisition rather than a major roster move. Value in Hindsight The uncertainty around the exact fifth-round selection should narrow the confidence of the grade, not erase the transaction. Detroit received draft value, while New England received a punter. The competing fourth-round reference is outweighed by repeated later Patriots records and the fact that the club still used its own fourth-round pick. That leaves the fifth-round description as the strongest supported version. Final Verdict Detroit earns a C+ and New England a C. The Lions receive the small edge for converting Benien into a fifth-round choice, while the Patriots made a defensible attempt to fill a specialist need. The unresolved identity of the exact fifth-round selection is stated plainly and does not justify attaching an unsupported player to the trade.