Only Gostkowski, Mayo and perhaps Logan Mankins can be considered "hits"
everyone else including Maroney, Dave Thomas and yes even Ben Watson have really disappointed. There are several that it is too early to judge.. (e.g. Wheatley and Wilhite)
But can we agree that BB/Pioli drafts the past 3 years have been disappointing and will hurt the club in the long run?
I would amend your statement to read with the exception of the
2005 draft, the Patriots drafts from 2004 to 2008 have been
disappointing.
The 2004 draft yielded Wilfork and Watson. Watson has not
shown the consistency expected of a #1 draft pick.
The 2005 draft yielded 5 starters (Cassel included). I would
would argue that Kaczur, Sanders and Cassel are no balls of fire.
The 2006 draft gave the Pats Maroney, Jackson, Thomas,
Gostowski, and O'Callahan. All but Gostowski have had problems
with injuries.
The 2007 draft produced Brandon Meriweather. Forum members
include Welker and Moss as part of this draft. The trade was made
for Welker because the Pats were in dire need of WRs and their
second round choice would not have given them a starter. Moss
had the Raiders over a barrel and wanted to play with Tom Brady.
The fact remains that the Pats have only one player from the
2007 draft on their 53 man roster from the eight players drafted.
The Giants won the Superbowl with a roster that contained all
of their 2007 draft picks. A lousy draft for the Pats was a good
draft for the Giants. How come?
It is too early to judge the 2008 draft but it is disappointing that only
player is receiving significant playing time. We have a lousy pass
rush yet Crable is on the inactive list every game. One bright spot
has been the play of Guyton.
Pats 1 mentions the losses in the scouting department. Maybe this
has been a factor.