That specific point was only made toward offensive line picks in the past few years. I think 0 for 7 on mid to late round olineman is enough of a sample size to declare that area a major failure in recent years. We can debate other areas of drafting and how successful/unsuccessful the Pats have been as well. I certainly give them credit for landing Edelman late.
Okay, I'll keep the discussion limited to the offensive line. At first glance 0 for 7 would shout major failure, but let's take a closer look.
From 2009 there is Ohrnberger (4th round, 123rd overall.) I don't think you'll find too much argument that he has been a disapointment thus far. Bussey (5th, 170) has been injured. Jake Ingram (6.198) has done his job but I'll presume your not counting the Long Snapper.
2007 was a very weak draft, especially in the later rounds. From the 4th round on there are only about a dozen names that I recognize as still being in the NFL today, and two of those are kickers. Almost half of these OL 'failures' come from this draft: Clint Oldenburg (5.171), Corey Hilliard (6.209) and Mike Elgin (7.247)
From 2006 there was Ryan O'Callaghan (5.136) and Dan Stevenson (6.205). Stevenson couldn't crack the lineup of a team that went 16-0, what a waste of the 205th draft pick. While O'Callaghan may be viewed as a diappointment, he did play in 26 games in his two seasons for the Pats, starting 7 times.
Now let's figure what are the chances of a late round pick not only making the roster, but of having an impact on a team that (a) was completely set at all five starting positions, and (b) good enough to go 49-15 over that time period?
In addition the team did use one early round draft pick (Vollmer) on the line, which in turn made one less backup roster position available for these other players. Another roster spot was being taken up by Russ Hochstein, until he departed.
Then there are players like Ryan Wendell, who will be the top backup of the interior line, but he doesn't count in your eyes because he was signed as an undrafted free agent, as opposed to being taken late in the 7th round. Same goes for players like Mark LeVoir and Dan Connolly, who don't count because they were originally signed as undrafted free agents on another team and spent a minimal amount of time elsewhere.
So if you want to narrow your focus to only one positional unit, exclude early draft picks, exclude undrafted free agents, and exclude any players that did not sign their first contract with the Patriots, then I suppose I would have to agree that the Pats scouting department and coaches are just doing a horrible job of evaluating talent. A "major failure" as you put it. Let's fire the whole staff, blow the whole thing up, clean house from top to bottom, and start all over again as if this was an expansion team. That sound good?
/rant
