New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has received an inordinate amount of praise over the past decade for his draft strategy of uncovering gems in late rounds and finding value players in the early ones.
From 2000 to 2005, Belichick loaded his roster with players who would establish themselves not only as consistent starters but also perennial Pro Bowlers. The Pats are still enjoying successful seasons because of Belichick's incredible drafting in the first five years of the past decade. However, at a closer look, Belichick's selections in the draft from 2006 through 2011 have hamstrung a Pats team that has not won a Super Bowl since 2004 — the year before their rookie classes began going sour.
In the 2000 draft, with the 33rd selection of the sixth round, Belichick took a flyer on a quarterback out of the University of Michigan named Tom Brady. This selection may have single-handedly delivered New England three Super Bowls and perhaps has placed an aura of infallibility around the coach.
But sports fans' memories are as short as the last game of the last season, and if your team does not continue to win, heads will roll. Just ask Terry Francona.
For every Patriot who is still around, such as left tackle Matt Light — the 48th overall selection in 2001; center Dan Koppen — the 164th overall selection in 2003 draft; or Vince Wilfork — the 21st overall selection in 2004, there are more players from the past five seasons who are no longer in New England.
While hindsight is always 20-20, there comes a point when someone needs to be called out for missed opportunities, especially when that someone is held in such high regard. Here's a recap of Belichick's last five drafts.
2006: The Pats selected running back Laurence Maroney with the 21st pick in the first round. Maroney never topped 1,000 yards in a season and was subsequently traded in 2010.
However, the Maroney pick pales in comparison to New England's misfire in the second round. Belichick swapped the 52nd overall pick with the Green Bay Packers for the 36th to select wide receiver Chad Jackson out of Florida. Not even Tom Brady could make Jackson look serviceable, as he amassed 14 catches, 171 yards and three touchdowns in his entire NFL career. That's not even the worst of it: The Packers used that same 52nd pick to select Pro Bowl receiver Greg Jennings.
The only Patriot on the roster from their remaining eight selections is kicker Stephen Gostkowski.
2007: The Pats began by trading receiver Deion Branch for a first-round pick. Armed with two first-rounders, Belichick elected to trade one away for a fourth-rounder and future first. The Pats chose safety Brandon Meriweather with their only pick in the first three rounds. Meriweather, the last remaining player on the roster from the draft, was cut this past offseason.
If you are keeping count at home, the kicker is the only player currently on the Patriots from the 2006 and 2007 drafts.
2008: Having forfeited their 31st pick in the first round due to "Spygate," Belichick made three draft-day trades to accumulate picks. The net result of the draft was linebacker Jerod Mayo, who is one of their stronger defensive players to date, and an extra second rounder the following year. Even though their second- and third-round picks were busts, the draft was mildly successful.
2009: This was the year everyone thought Belichick's strategy of hoarding picks would pay off. Coming off a year in which they missed the playoffs, the Pats should have been looking to reload. Instead of attempting to package their multiple picks to move up into the early first round, they inexplicably traded entirely out of the first round and ended up with four second-rounders and two thirds.
The Packers again took advantage of Belichick's draft miscues and selected linebacker Clay Matthews with the 26th overall pick that they received from New England. For all the Belichick believers out there, Jennings and Matthews are two of the most integral pieces of a team that currently holds the Lombardi Trophy.
As for the Pats' picks, wide receiver Brandon Tate, who was cut this past offseason, was selected in the third round one pick ahead of Steelers receiver Mike Wallace, who is currently the best deep threat in the entire league — in other words, what Tate was supposed to become.
2010: Loaded with a plethora of draft picks, Belichick opted to, yet again, move further back in the draft and accumulate selections rather than packaging them for a higher pick. The Pats' strategy seemed to have paid off early, as they struck gold with not one but two star tight ends in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Their biggest prize, however, was cornerback Devin McCourty. Their first-round pick finished his rookie campaign with seven interceptions, en route to a Pro Bowl appearance. McCourty has struggled in his sophomore season, however, failing to record an interception to date.
2011: A blueprint has been established for beating this year's Patriots team. The Pats rank dead-last in the NFL in passing yards allowed. Their secondary was exposed this past weekend as Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger attempted 50 passes, completing 36, including two touchdown strikes.
In the 2011 draft, Belichick had the opportunity to upgrade his defense but instead elected to draft two running backs in the first three rounds, along with a quarterback in the fourth. Neither rusher has received significant playing time this season as BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead and Kevin Faulk shoulder the backfield load. Cornerback Ras-I Dowling, whom New England snagged in the second round, was placed on injured reserve this past week after playing in only the first two games of the year.
The Patriots are now ravaged in the secondary, after releasing Meriweather and corners Leigh Bodden and Darius Butler during the first eight weeks.
For an elite regular-season team and a perennial contender, it is terrifying to consider what could have been had just half of the Patriots' draft selections played out like they did in the early 2000s. The truth is: The Pats have no pass rush and a porous secondary, ranking near the bottom of the league in two categories that are vital for success.
In the era of great quarterbacks and passing stats, New England is a step behind. That's why the Patriots haven't won a Super Bowl since 2004.
