Discussions regarding a possible trade between the Saints and Patriots began Friday night, Pats coach Bill Belichick said late this afternoon, after New England had swapped first-round picks with New Orleans -- moving down from No. 7 to No. 10. The Saints also gave the Pats a third-round pick, giving New England three in that round, and the Patriots gave N.O. a 5th-round choice.

"We did some 'prep' work on the New Orleans trade last night," Belichick said at a press conference at Gillette Stadium.

Part of the reason for that was that the NFL this year cut the time allotted for teams to make their first-round selections from 15 minutes to 10.

"Things whip right along," Belichick said. "We kind of anticipated the scenario. New Orleans certainly was looking for Sedrick Ellis (DL, Southern Cal.) That was no big secret. When he was still on the board (at No. 7), that led to the next step.

"We were on the clock. We had a trade partner. So we made a move that we thought would be good for our football team."