I agree that the Steelers and Colts draft well, and I believe this new salary cap era put planning over talent, so teams like that will eventually become the cream of the crop... but to put the Steelers and Colts above the Patriots might be too much.
I see Belichick's drafts as being Pioli-era and then post-Pioli-era, and that really scared me when Pioli left. I judged Belichick as the X-and-O's guy while Pioli was the talent evaluator. But I was gladly wrong: the years without Pioli have been great.
Look at the 2009 draft: Chung has been a difference maker, Brace is a important part of the D-line rotation, Vollmer is a Mankins-like reach that was succesfull, Tate was a great pick that will improve when he can play like the #2 wideout he really is, and I also see greatness in Pryor's future and hope Edelman can go back to his rookie production. So, aside from Butler, Belichick's first draft without Pioli went pretty well. He had 13 picks with no first rounders and got 6 players who already contributed. In a draft made without any very high picks, it's tough to get an almost 50% hit rate.
But the 2010 draft, IMO, will go down as one of the best in Belichick's legacy. He not only got loaded for the next draft with a very high pick from Carolina, he also got guys who contributed from day one: McCourty, Gronkowski, Spikes, Hernandez and Mesko; and a guy who I bet will become one of the cornestones of the defense until the end of this season, Cunningham; with a very-low pick that has helped, Deaderick. Price, being a third rounder, can be labeled as the only bust.
So far this class has produced 114 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, 9 passes defended and 48 catches for 584 yards and 5 touchdowns through 8 games. That is above-average production from a rookie class.
When you look at the Colts 2010 draft, they got 1rst rounder Jerry Hughes (1 tackle in 2010), 2nd rounder Pat Angerer (30 tackles, 1 sack and 1 fumble forced), 3rd rounder Kevin Thomas (no stats), 4th rouner Jacques McClendon (guard, 1 game played), 5th rounder Brody Eldridge (3 catches for 23 yards and no touchdowns), 7th rounder Kavell Conner (5 tackles) and then two other 7th rounders who didn't do anything. That's under-average production from a rookie class.
The 2010 Steelers' Draft got 1rst rounder Maurkice Pouncey (center, 8 starts), 2nd rounder Jason Worilds (5 tackles, 1 sack), 3rd rounder Emmanuel Sanders (4 catches for 76 yards), 4th rounder Thaddeus Gibson (already cut, now with the 49ers), 5th rounder Stevenson Sylvester (4 tackles, 1 fumble forced), 7th rounder Antonio Brown (1 catch for 6 yards) and some other guys with no stats. That's average production from a rookie class.
I now these stats can be deceiving because the Patriots had more holes and less proved starters, since they're pretty much rebuilding, but it still servers as testament to Belichick's great talent evaluation, specially in the post-Pioli era, and it also shows that the team is being built for the future (what's the whole point of the draft, really)... And Belichick did all that while stockpiling draft picks, getting wins and keeping most key veterans (Wilfork, Bodden, TBC, Brady, etc). That's remarkable.
