What the Patriots looks for in a Prospect.

The Patriots have rebuilt their team in 5 years mostly through the draft, it is clear that the patriots have a system for identifying talent but what is it exactly? Here are some key factors the patriots look at when identifying a potential patriot via the draft.

Obviously every player must have talent in addition to all of these factors.

1. How they spend their spare time.

This is the most important factor in my opinion, When the Patriots look at a player, they must realize that the person they are getting isn't going to be on the field 98.5% of the time while they are a patriot.

When the Player is not being supervised by a coach, what are they doing? are they dedicated to studying their playbook? are they competitive in other settings? do they stay out of trouble or situations which could cause them injury?

Some players like Gronkowski spend an unbelievable amount of time in the Gym getting big, others spend alot of time within the safety of their rooms playing video games with their friends. As long as a player doesn't have money problems (like Dez Bryant) or gets into legal or gang trouble with guns and properly allocates their time to to their craft, they will fit the mold, i believe the Patriots put a much higher value on players who don't have any known issues like this which could potentially lead to suspensions of other kinds of distractions.

2. Leadership qualities and film dedication. A large amount of Patriots were captains or perceived team leaders on their former team, the Patriots want a team full of chiefs who are capable of speaking their mind and willing to sacrifice their own personal glory to put their teammates in a better position to succeed. Some players are selfish and want all of the glory (Such as WR 'divas') this is the opposite of what the patriots are looking for, once again this is because these players tend to be ultra competitive and willing to do anything just to get a win. these players will spend extra time in the film room because they understand that winning starts in the days leading up to a game.

3. Good Genetics. What do Rob Gronkowski, Devin Mccourty, Brandon spikes, and Chandler Jones all have in common? They each have relatives in the NFL. Having good genetics helps the Patriots know what to exactly to a certain degree, are these players tough? do they have good instincts? how quickly did they adapt to the NFL game? It is debatable just how much this information helps, but nonetheless, it is a factor the Patriots definitely pay attention to.

4. 'Injury prone' Status, Much of the time a player can receive an 'Injury prone' label from their college or professional careers, naturally this hurts their draft stock and they can tumble down the draft even though if they were never injured they have been drafted much higher, why do the Patriots like these players? Value.

The Patriots are drafting near the end of each round every draft, they know they will be there and they want to be there (because being there means a successful previous season). I think the Patriots truly don't believe that a player can be 'Injury prone' i think that they believe injuries happen because of a lack of conditioning, improper technique or bad luck, i think the Patriots have built a Strength and Conditioning wonder within the walls of Gillette and see improving overall health of these players will improve the overall value of their draft positioning.

5. Harmless 'off field issues', Ryan Mallet and Aaron Hernandez fell a long way because of perceptions of their off the field attitude or activities, Mallett was considered to have a terrible attitude and fell to the 3rd round while Aaron Hernandez went all the way to the 4th round because of his positive Marijuana test, I think that if investigated properly, the Patriots can dismiss these problems. We should all know by now that Marijuana is harmless, but other teams might potentially see these players as a potential bust because of these factors.


You can already see these factors being applied to who the team is adding in free agency, but see an eye on these things during the draft.

Here are some interesting examples from the 2013 draft.

Genetics: Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington

'Injury Prone': Justin Hunter, WR, Tennessee

Harmless OTF Issues: Tyrann Mathieu, CB, LSU

Though we can hardly Fathom it, Manti Te'o fits a number of these factors and may be the pick should he make it to 29, he also fills a need as a 'coverage linebacker'.

Good stuff man, I agree with a lot of it. The first thing I will say though is I think the Pats have different criteria depending on where they pick. In the early rounds they absolutely take into account character, work ethic, importance of football in their lives. But as the draft goes on they are willing to take more chances because the opportunity cost of a 5th, 6th or 7th round player isn't as great as a 1st or 2nd rounder. But in a situation where talent seems to be reasonably even, the Pats obviously put value on things like leadership and team captains.

On the injury prone thing, I don't disagree with your statement that that may be how they feel. But my opinion, if they do take that view, is that it is a huge mistake. The fact is some guys just get hurt more than others. Whether it be because of genetic predisposition to a certain injury, one injury leading to a weakness that is a constant issue, the way in which they play the game or just plain bad luck, some guys just get hurt more than others. I kind of see it like 'clutch' in baseball. Sabermetrics might say that it doesn't exist, but anyone that watches the game knows its there. And it could just be luck, but that doesn't help when the guy is sitting on the sidelines.

The last thing I will say is the 'harmless off the field stuff' is very subjective. Aaron Hernandez is a good example of your point because while he may like to smoke in the offseason, it hasn't hindered his personal or professional life. On the other hand I don't think you could put Tyrann Mathieu in that same category. Being kicked off a team, sitting out a year and being forced into rehab doesn't sound harmless to me. I think that is an example of a huge risk because he has prove time after time that his drug issues have been severely detrimental to himself and his team. Guys like Dennard though who have one slip up that seems out of character would be a perfect example of this kind of value pick. I generally love these kinds of guys later in the draft.

I read somewhere that BB values prospects that have completed their degrees because it demonstrates commitment and work ethic. It would explain the high proportion of Seniors and RS Juniors that they draft, particularly in the first.

Nice write-up.....

Arthur Brown also fits this mold outside of the off-field issues that were noted:

(1) Team Captain

(2) Brother of Bryce Brown

(3) Transferred from the University of Miami, the home of linebackers, to go home and be with his family and ailing family members

K-State’s Arthur Brown is buoyed by a sense of family | Wichita Eagle

serifyn said:

Though we can hardly Fathom it, Manti Te'o fits a number of these factors and may be the pick should he make it to 29, he also fills a need as a 'coverage linebacker'.

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Maybe this is just atavistic fear on my part, but I sure as heck hope not.

manxman2601 said:

I read somewhere that BB values prospects that have completed their degrees because it demonstrates commitment and work ethic. It would explain the high proportion of Seniors and RS Juniors that they draft, particularly in the first.

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Yesterday, in my Twitter timeline, have read one link (can`t post it, cause I am a rookie forum :singing from smartfootball.com, about Bill Parcells’ four rules for drafting a quarterback, that says:

1. He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback.

2.He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously.

3.He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time.

4.He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.


Great minds think alike?

belicheck010405 said:

Nice write-up.....

Arthur Brown also fits this mold outside of the off-field issues that were noted:

(1) Team Captain

(2) Brother of Bryce Brown

(3) Transferred from the University of Miami, the home of linebackers, to go home and be with his family and ailing family members

....

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I would love Patriots picks this guy, even with their 1st round pick.

65% game tape
25% measurables
10% everything stated in the OP

manxman2601 said:

I read somewhere that BB values prospects that have completed their degrees because it demonstrates commitment and work ethic. It would explain the high proportion of Seniors and RS Juniors that they draft, particularly in the first.

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Also lets them know that a player will strive to finish the "goal" instead of trying to cut corners.

Another aspect is if they are married or have children. Not a necessity but again, it shows that said player has some maturity and understands the responsibilities on their shoulders to probably treat the NFL as a business as opposed to being young and partying around/staying out late for the first few years.

One thing that has struck me is their deep digging for examples of mental or physical toughness & love of the game. QB Kurt Kittner put up solid numbers but the Patriots wanted to take him in Round 5 partly because he played LB in high school his Senior year after getting a cast for his broken arm. That's dedication/love of the game if you risk yourself to further injury playing a position prone to hitting despite being a quarterback with a scholarship already in your back pocket.

Since 2010, 15 of the 28 players drafted by the #Patriots were college captains. That includes 10 of the 16 drafted in last 2 years.

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https://twitter.com/cpriceNFL/status/324216277080109058

Yesares said:

Yesterday, in my Twitter timeline, have read one link (can`t post it, cause I am a rookie forum :singing from smartfootball.com, about Bill Parcells’ four rules for drafting a quarterback, that says:

1. He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback.

2.He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously.

3.He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time.

4.He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.

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I don't know if you can attribute this set of rules to Parcells, since Bledsoe failed all four of these tests. And the reason Parcells gave for Bledsoe over Mirer is because he was three years younger and had that much more time to improve.

The Blitz with Jeff Howe & Karen Guregian | Boston Herald

If the Patriots are up for adding a coverage linebacker, they might have spotted their answer yesterday.

Kansas State linebacker Arthur Brown visited Gillette Stadium, and he is in the top tier at his position. Brown could essentially play anywhere in the 4-3, but he is more suited for an outside position. He could also play next to Jerod Mayo in nickel sets on passing downs. It's even possible the Patriots are planning for the possibility of losing Brandon Spikes when his contract expires next offseason.

Yesares said:

Yesterday, in my Twitter timeline, have read one link (can`t post it, cause I am a rookie forum :singing from smartfootball.com, about Bill Parcells’ four rules for drafting a quarterback, that says:

1. He must be a senior, because you need time and maturity to develop into a good professional quarterback.

2.He must be a graduate, because you want someone who takes his responsibilities seriously.

3.He must be a three-year starter, because you need to make sure his success wasn’t ephemeral and that he has lived as “the guy” for some period of time.

4.He must have at least 23 wins, because the big passing numbers must come in the context of winning games.


Great minds think alike?

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Did Tom Brady even fit those criteria? There's always an exception to the rule.

tonyto3690 said:

65% game tape
25% measurables
10% everything stated in the OP

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And I reply to that 90% of the game is half mental. (Yogi Berra) ^_^