Other than Brady,The Top 7 best draft selections in Belichick's tenure

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

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.

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.

 

[Deus Irae]

Just doing a top 10, and taking draft position and position played, Brady's far and away #1. Seymour's the clear #2. After that, it's a bit less clear, IMO:

Wilfork/Light
Mankins
Koppen
Samuel
Warren
Branch
Mayo

That's how I'd look at the top 10 as of right now, with Graham/Wilson/Givens (no particular order) probably being the next 3. It's too soon to fairly evaluate the likes of Gronk and Hernandez, IMO.


P.S. Samuel's a tough rate. As a lower round choice who became a defensive stalwart, he's a high pick. I could see arguments for him being anywhere from 7-10 on this list, though.

 

[Ring 6]

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 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.

Just a little perspective. McCourty has been miles and miles better than Samuel in their first 2 years.
Hobbs was miles and miles better than Randall Gay. In fact I might put Wilhite ahead of Gay. Gay had the beneift of better players around him, but he was pretty brutal in 06 and 07. In that SB Manning literally only look at who Harrison or Gay was covering in man and threw to them almost 100% of the time. Wilson was far better as well, so is Chung, but I can't tell if you are talking DB or corner only, because you said both in different places.

 

[Ring 6]

Just doing a top 10, and taking draft position and position played, Brady's far and away #1. Seymour's the clear #2. After that, it's a bit less clear, IMO:

Wilfork/Light
Mankins
Koppen
Samuel
Warren
Branch
Mayo

That's how I'd look at the top 10 as of right now, with Graham/Wilson/Givens (no particular order) probably being the next 3. It's too soon to fairly evaluate the likes of Gronk and Hernandez, IMO.


P.S. Samuel's a tough rate. As a lower round choice who became a defensive stalwart, he's a high pick. I could see arguments for him being anywhere from 7-10 on this list, though.

Agree. The hardest part is ordering them, and there are many ways to do it that can be easily justified.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Just a little perspective. McCourty has been miles and miles better than Samuel in their first 2 years.
Hobbs was miles and miles better than Randall Gay. In fact I might put Wilhite ahead of Gay. Gay had the beneift of better players around him, but he was pretty brutal in 06 and 07. In that SB Manning literally only look at who Harrison or Gay was covering in man and threw to them almost 100% of the time. Wilson was far better as well, so is Chung, but I can't tell if you are talking DB or corner only, because you said both in different places.

Mainly corner

As far as safeties go, Eugene Wilson was probably the best draft pick at this point which was another weak area of drafting the past decade.

The WR S and RB areas were not the strongest part of the Pats drafting since Bill arrived .... fortunately many of the draft picks for the other positions did overall very well which is a big reason why the team remains competitive today.

Thats why it easy to say Deion Branch,Samuel and Wilson were the best in their respective positions here...there were some pretty unsuccessful drafted players come and gone in those areas.

 

[Ring 6]

Mainly corner

As far as safeties go, Eugene Wilson was probably the best draft pick at this point which was another weak area of drafting the past decade.

The WR S and RB areas were not the strongest part of the Pats drafting since Bill arrived .... fortunately many of the draft picks for the other positions did overall very well which is a big reason why the team remains competitive today.

Thats why it easy to say Deion Branch,Samuel and Wilson were the best in their respective positions here...there were some pretty unsuccessful drafted players come and gone in those areas.

Wr is a position that we have filled with system players and/or Free Agents. BB has never used a 1st.
At S, until the last couple of years, we have had very good safety play under BB. Even Meriwhether who was the only 1 used at the position was a pretty good player for a few years.
RB has always been a position that BB de-emphaiszed, or at least was content with a group sharing the duties. I know everyone here hates Maroney, but contrary to popular belief he was productive while a Patriot, the main problem being he wasn't productive for long enough.
When you have a dearth of 1st rounders and an average or less amount of 2s and 3s it will usually be hard to find a lot top players.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I guess it depends on how you define "best draft selections."

If you go by most productive, I'd pretty much agree with what other folks have been posting.

But I tend to include the idea of "brilliant ideas" in terms of drafting, too. In my mind, the most brilliant picks of the Belichick era include Matt Cassel: BB saw a capable backup who no one else would have thought of drafting any earlier. Given Cassel likely would not have signed here as an UDFA, BB pounced.

 

[bagwell368]

I would put Light and Mankins way ahead of Koppen.

Totally.

Seymour is also far ahead of Wilfork. We don't win at least one SB w/o Seymour IMO. Also I would count Solder as belonging to Seymour as well.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Mainly corner

As far as safeties go, Eugene Wilson was probably the best draft pick at this point which was another weak area of drafting the past decade.

The WR S and RB areas were not the strongest part of the Pats drafting since Bill arrived .... fortunately many of the draft picks for the other positions did overall very well which is a big reason why the team remains competitive today.

Thats why it easy to say Deion Branch,Samuel and Wilson were the best in their respective positions here...there were some pretty unsuccessful drafted players come and gone in those areas.

The Patriots have a pretty solid track record at drafting safeties. Meriweather was the worst pick, and even he wasn't bad at all, just a disappointment for where he was drafted. Chung, Wilson, and Sanders were all hits.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Is a very poor tackler = how many good tacklers are there at CB ?

 

[DaBruinz]

Nice list but
IMHO- Light has to be #1 on the list.

He protected Brees ,Bledsoe, Brady.
Not bad for a 2nd round pick # 48 overall

One can only hope that the most recent 2nd round pick, #48 overall, works out half as well as Light did.

What amazes me about Light is how many people trashed him on a regular basis year in and year out. Claiming he couldn't handle the likes of Jason Taylor and such and ignoring that most other OTs couldn't either.

Light was one of the best O-linemen not named John Hannah or Leon Gray. And, honestly, I feel that Light out-performed Bruce Armstrong, though Armstrong was very good at LT as well.

 

[brdmaverick]

When factoring in everything including expectations vs. production, then David Givens as a 7th round draft pick was certainly one of the best selections the Patriots organization has made. To further his resume, he was absolutely clutch in playoff games.

 

[WhiZa]

I thought this list was going to be about draft position compared to production rather than straight production so I made my own list:

Player Round
Tom Brady 6 - probably #1 draft value picks of all time
Matt Cassel 7 - Not very often you can get a starting caliber QB in the 7th round
Asante Samuel 4 - Took some grooming, but after a few years he's been a all-pro 3 times
Dan Koppen 5 - started season 1 and hasn't stopped 8 years later
Aaron Hernandez 4 - started right away and in 2 years is a top 5 TE in the league
Matt Slater 5 - Probowl ST

Honorable mention:
David Givens 7 - was a consistent producer early-on, but his career didn't last long
Julian Edelman 7 - Was playing early and often. You don't find players who can produce at all positions that late in the draft
Tully Banta-Cain 7 - became a reliable starter which is hard to find in the 7th round
Marcus Cannon 5 - based on potential
Ryan Mallett 3 - based on potential

 

[eagle eye]

Clearly Brady is no.1 and I'm in agreement with some others that Richard Seymour is the runaway no.2. After that...

3. Wilfork
4. Light
5. Mankins
6. Mayo
7. Warren
8. Koppen
9. Branch
10. Gronk
11. Graham

 

[bagwell368]

One can only hope that the most recent 2nd round pick, #48 overall, works out half as well as Light did.

What amazes me about Light is how many people trashed him on a regular basis year in and year out. Claiming he couldn't handle the likes of Jason Taylor and such and ignoring that most other OTs couldn't either.

Light was one of the best O-linemen not named John Hannah or Leon Gray. And, honestly, I feel that Light out-performed Bruce Armstrong, though Armstrong was very good at LT as well.

Light was much better then Leon Gray. Gray's time for the Pats was limited (6 years) compared to Light, and he was up and down, even though he played next to the best G of all time.

Armstrong and Light is closer. Armstrong played about 50 games more then Light. He also played under less favorable conditions (lesser coaching/OL's to play with) then what Light had. Neither is perfect or a HOF. Both belong in the Pats HOF. I'd take either one in their time, but if forced to choose would take Armstrong over Light.