But when was the last time the Patriots had a "mid" range first round draft pick?
Code:
EARLIEST TWO PICKS
2001 #6 Richard Seymour
2003 #19 Ty Warren (traded up to #13)
From 2000 to 2019 Belichick has on average (before trades) gotten his first draft pick at spot
#31.25 (calculating the three first round draft forfeitures)
(This spot rises to the
#27 pick if you simply drop the three forfeited years from the average which is hardly fair when determining his overall first round draft capital in my opinion.)
From 2011 to 2019 Belichick has on average (before trades) gotten his first draft pick at spot
#33.5 (calculated using the one first round draft forfeiture)
(This spot rises to the
#30.5 pick if you simply drop the one forfeited year from the average.)
I know some will deny that how late in each round Belichick is forced to make draft picks is very significant or that it is a poor excuse for his draft mistakes. They are wrong. Nut yes Belichick makes mistakes but he's forced to pick after everyone else has gotten their choice first.
How can this NOT be a serious detriment?
I still insist that the draft is very much like poker. The earlier the pick, the more certain GMs can be of the player and the more certain the outcome of pick. The draft has a lot of luck involved in it and much of the skill involved in drafting at this level is in how you handle that aspect of it.
And since 2000 Belichick has been playing cut-throat, big boy poker with the least amount of draft capital/chips in his starting pot that all other GMs. Period.