who was the worst Pats 1st round pick?

[SteveKiner]

According to McDonough, he was in the hospital having his knee operated on when they drafted him.

Lack of information there.

Old school, It had to be Dennis Byrd. Ray Clay is right. When they called to inform him he was the Patriots number 1 pick, sixth overall, he was in the hospital recovering from knee surgery. Remember this was 1968, no artroscopics then. I believe it was in the 3rd round that the Pats took a player who died in a car accident the previous week. Great scouting department.

New school, Chris Canty, he was absolutely terrible.

At least guys like Ken Sims could play a little. That 1982 draft was pretty poor. Ken Sims, Johnie Cooks, Chip Banks, Art Schlicter went 1-4. The Pats were lucky, they had 2 number 1's that year. They also took Lester "Fat" Williams. Sims and Williams were Not quite like the Hannah, Cunningham, Stingley draft, or the Haynes, Brock, draft.

IMO, Another poor number one draft pick was Chris Singleton. He got lots of hype but I thought he sucked. The Pats traded down from #3? overall for the #8 and #10 picks and took Singleton and Ray Agnew. Again, not much help there.

For those who pick Plunkett, I think you are wrong. That poor guy was, along with 1 receiver,the only offensive player the Pats had for a couple of years. He got the sh!t kicked out of him. He had one receiver, Vataha, who was a midget that Plunkett brought in with him. Everytime, he went back to pass he got hit. I actually felt bad for him. By the time the Pats got some talent around him, Plunkett was shell shocked. It took him 2 years to recover from the beatings he got in NE before he was able to function again. When he got to Oakland, you saw what Plunkett was really about.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Dennis Byrd

Dennis Byrd is a valid candidate but he at least played, or took up a roster spot, for a while.

I have to nominate "Football Phill" Olsen. Merlin's little brother, he didn't want to be in NE; made no bones about it, refused to report one year and then appeared like he might come around but didn't.

In the end signed with Denver where he promptly BUSTed !

 

[WTE]

Reggie Dupard. The 26th overall selection in 1986.

When they picked him I said "Reggie who?"

 

[captain stone]

Reggie Dupard. The 26th overall selection in 1986.

When they picked him I said "Reggie who?"

Shortly after his arrival, he was given the well-deserved nickname of "Two Yard" Dupard.

If the patsies wanted a RB in Round 1, the obvious choice was Neal Anderson, who was drafted by the Bears - with the very next pick.

 

[mancunian]

Would have to go with those that have said Andy Katzenmoyer, I too had such high hopes for him.

 

[fillylabinga]

Like a lot of other people on this board I'm going with Canty.

Not just because he was a terrible player (he was!), but also the timing of the pick.

This was the first pick of the post-Parcells era. We had just had a run of #1s that consisted of McGinest, Law, and Glenn.

Then we draft Canty. Undersized. Small school. It was a questionable decision even at the time. In fact, that whole 1997 draft was a disaster headed by Canty.

It was clear that we were just NOT in good hands anymore.

 

[DarMan]

Beat me. Did you know that our next pick Holovak's chief scout recommended a WR that was dead?

From an archived McDonough column I can't link.

I am convinced back in those days the Patriots scouting consisted of watching college games on TV.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Partially to add some controversy....

Although he went on to have a great career elsewhere Jim Plunkett's 5 years in New England were pretty bad and he was the first pick in the draft.

Plunkett had an offensive line in front of him that made David Carr's look like Pro Bowlers. Once he had even marginal talent, we saw what he could do, winning a Super Bowl with the Raiders. despite the beating and it was a beating that Plunkett took, he never once gave up. And the trade to SF, gave draft picks that became the foundation for the Pats success in the mid to late 70's.