AndyJohnson

I think with a list like this you have to pretend history ends today, and not project what some player may accomplish and then compare that to what another actually did. Those are 2 very different things. The young guys work their way on to the list over time, IMO, and leaving them off is in no way a slight.

I also believe where they were drafted is not a factor, because its about what you do on the field, not what you do vs what was expected.

1) Light. Not the best player BB ever drafted, but the guy outside of Brady who contributed the most, in terms of length of service, quality or play and importance of role.
2) Seymour. Instrumental in 3 SB titles. THE BEST all around DL in the NFL for much of his tenure here.
3) Wilfork. Close call with Seymour, but: Seymour 3 rings, Vince 1. Seymour (adjusting for same point in career) is a better player. Seymour as of today actually has played the same number of season with the Pats.
4) Branch. Had a big role in Bradys development and 2 rings. Maybe a bit too high for leaving after 4 years.
5) Ty Warren. Solid player for 7 years. Really the model of what BB wants in a 34 DE. His contributions to 2 rings are often overlooked.
6) Samuel. Contributed to 2 rings, including taking over for Law in 04. Gets knocked for chasing money and the last 1 minute of the season that wasn't, but contributed a lot.
7) Koppen. 2 rings. I think it is underrated how he stepped in as a rookie to an OL somewhat in disarray.120 starts is a lot of football. In his early years, when we won titles, he has some medicore talent surrounding him.
8) Mankins. Perhaps too far down, but no ring is a big consideration to me when the guys ahead of him have them. Excellent player for 7 years. It wouldn't be hard to convince me to move him up
9) Mayo Again, no ring, and only 4 years so far. But 4 tremendous seasons.
10) Eugene Wilson. This is not going to be a popular choice, BUT. He started on 2 champions, both seasons with secondary challenges. Stepped in for Milloy in 03 then was consistently good in the injury ravaged 04 secondary. Started all of 05, then was off and on injured for 2 years. Also a contributor on the 07 squad. Another players whose contributions are overlooked.

That is my heavily slanted to rings top 10.

NEGoldenAge

Asante Samuel was just traded for a 7th round draft pick from a team that had been looking to trade him for years. He can only play on one side of the field, can not play bump and run and is a very poor tackler. Sure he's a ball hawk, but the rest of his game is bad.

randomk1

Can only play one side of the field= Asomugha

Can not play bump and run = name a CB on the pats who can

Is a very poor tackler = how many good tacklers are there at CB ? That's like saying linemen are fat


What's your opinion of our current stud CBs i wonder?

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BradyFTW!

1. Wilfork - based on production and draft positoin
2. Gronkowski
3. Seymour - at his best, better player than Wilfork, but was drafted much higher
4. Light
5. Warren
6. Samuel
7. Branch
8. Mayo
9. Wilson
10. Koppen

I can't put Mankins on the list after his performances in the last two Super Bowls, and also because, when you pick a guard in the first round, he's basically a bad pick if he doesn't become one of the very best in the league.

mayoclinic

I qualified my list as being subjective, and I didn't expect everyone to agree with it. It depends on what criteria you use, and I don't think that Andy's version is the only acceptable one. The title of the thread was the 7 best draft selections of the BB era other than Brady, not which players have contributed the most over the past 12 seasons. Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez have only played 2 seasons, but they have already become impact players, have produced on a historic level, and have revolutionized the way teams are designing their offenses. I personally give them the edge for that over a guy like Dan Koppen, who was a solid starter on 4 SB teams including 2 SB winners. But it's totally subjective.

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PATSYLICIOUS

1. Wilfork - A true steal at 21. No explanation really needed.
2. Light - Perhaps the second most offensive position on a team with a HOF QB. 11 solid years and IIRC wasn't a first rounder.
3. Asante - Not a popular pick but was a legit elite CB for a couple years. Won 2 rings here and was the #1 CB for us on the 2nd one he got. Could have been a major major part of our 4th ring in 2006 if we held on in that AFCC after his pick 6. Maybe for me I'm putting the recent failure of drafting CB's into consideration (unless DMC and/or RID are a success), but to get this in the 4th round is a fantastic selection.
4. Branch - Another one that may not be so popular but he was our best WR during our best years. Still a legit option nowadays. Great value for a 2nd rounder. Again, recent failures at WR put the success of this pick into perspective.
5. Mankins - Like Branch was considered a massive reach, but obviously turned out to be a great pick, fantastic for where he was taken.
6. Seymour - This list isn't '7 best players drafted by BB' or else he would be 1 or 2. He's an amazing player but he was taken very high, credit to him for living up to the potential of that pick though.
7. Givens/Warren/Mayo - I believe Givens was a 7th rounder or something like that so I had to include him on this list. Warren was a solid contributor for many years, good value as well. Mayo was great but taken very high too.

Incomplete - Many players drafted since 2009, namely Gronk, Hernandez, Vollmer have potential to be very high on this list eventually.

EDIT: Going through the thread I could not believe I left Koppen off the list. I'd throw him into the tie for #7

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AndyJohnson

I didn't say it was. I was listing my own criteria, not saying yours is inadequate.
Thats why I wrote "I think......"


Agreed. There is no right or wrong, especially when we are defining the question differently.
Niether definition is better than the other, its a personal preference.

BradyFTW!

They didn't trade Asante because he isn't good. They traded him because they were paying him way too much. The reason why he was traded to Atlanta is because nobody wanted him for the money that was making- he agreed to leave some money on the table to go to the Falcons, and any trade was going to be contingent on his willingness to do that.

No matter how you look at it, he's a good CB when used in the proper role, and getting him in the 4th round was a great pick.

PATSYLICIOUS

Exactly, the fact that he was slapped with the franchise tag his final year in NE and given that massive contract by Philly in the first place shows his true value.

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PATRIOTSFANINPA

Some like me think Asante deserves to be in the top 7 while some have sour grapes from SB 42 and feel he shouldn't belong there.

I think the one thing just about ALL of us agree with is that Asante was miles and miles ahead of any other corner draft pick in the secondary in the Bill era in terms of true success THUS FAR.

McCourty showed life as a rookie but dropped significantly in his second year so the jury is still out on him.

The only other corner I can say belongs as a good pick was Randall Gay who was a decent player for the Pats.

I may be in the minority here but I think that Sterling Moore has star potential as a corner on this defense if he sticks around long enough....without Moore on the field in the final few seconds of the AFCCG last year,the Pats don't get to the Super Bowl.....Moore has been burned but he also has good speed and instincts and did TONS more as a player that came from nowhere to make a solid rookie contribution.

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