Patriots biggest draft blunder in the last 5 years?

[BradyFTW!]

You know who got a raw deal? Josh Boyce, he should have been a top 10 pick.

Johnson
Combine Invite: yes
Height: 5110
Weight: 201
40 Yrd Dash: 4.38
20 Yrd Dash: 2.60
10 Yrd Dash: 1.55
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 17
Vertical Jump: 38 1/2
Broad Jump: 10'07"
20 Yrd Shuttle:
3-Cone Drill:

Boyce
Combine Invite: Yes
Height: 5111
Weight: 206
40 Yrd Dash: 4.34
20 Yrd Dash: 2.51
10 Yrd Dash: 1.54
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 22
Vertical Jump: 34
Broad Jump: 10'11"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.10
3-Cone Drill: 6.68

Boyce is a fantastic physical specimen, no doubt, but that's not what makes a good WR. We've seen this story play out a hundred times, but I like Boyce as a high upside pick. He didn't produce much in his last couple years of college, but that could very well have been because he had a genuinely inept quaterback. If it turns out that he has the football IQ and instincts to thrive in the NFL, then the Pats could well end up with a first round talent out of a fourth round pick. Or he'll wash out of the NFL. Whatever the end result is, I liked the strategy behind the pick at the time that it was made, so I support the pick. I feel the same way about Brandon Tate. Yeah, the pick didn't pan out, but if you're going to get first round talent in the third round, it's because a major red flag is attached to it one way or another. You just have to accept the red flag and hope that the player overcomes it.

 

[JMC00]

HUH? Yeah. Patrick Chung was sure a bust. Only was a starter for the better part of 3 of the 4 years.

People seriously are whacked on what constitutes a good draft and what doesn't. Was 2009 great? No. But it sure as hell wasn't their worst.

Saying the 2009 draft was the worst is the same as saying that the 2001 draft was bad because they only got Light and Seymour from it.

People over-look the over-all contributions. Butler has since developed into a steady CB, btw. Pryor was pretty good until injuries (which he didn't have in college) curtailed his career. Jake Ingram was a solid long snapper for a year until he lost his mojo. Which is something that happens to long snappers on occasion.

Claiming that a particular draft set the team back when, 2 years after that draft, the team found itself in the SB doesn't make any sense at all.

The fact that you have to point out Myron Pyror and a freaking longer snapper as 2 of the better picks of the draft really sums up that pathetic draft.

You mean Chung was a starter for 2 of those years and the 2nd year he was a complete liability. Although he did contribute in the sense that McCourty had to be moved to safety because Chung had regressed so much from his one decent season in 2010.

This is what I will remember Chung as a Patriots for: Fake Punt and Not getting over in time to break up a sideline pass.

Did Butler develop into a steady CB with the Pats? Nope.

 

[Brady6]

CB happened to be a position of need that year. But, let's just ignore that fact so it plays into the delusion that you have some substance to your argument.

We don’t have to ignore the need for a cornerback; we could just say we would have been better off drafting Aaron Williams who was drafted immediately after Dowling at #34 by the Bills. Williams is having a breakout season this year and is the perfect type of player for this team, very similar to McCourty with the ability to move between CB and safety.

 

[coolguy]

The patriots trading down the 22( Demaryius Thomas) and 24th (Dez Bryant)pick to get Devin McCourty is the one i laugh about the most

 

[BradyFTW!]

The patriots trading down the 22( Demaryius Thomas) and 24th (Dez Bryant)pick to get Devin McCourty is the one i laugh about the most

Why? McCourty's really good. If I was running the Pats and you offered me Dez Bryant for McCourty, right now, I'd say no.

 

[Brady6]

The patriots trading down the 22( Demaryius Thomas) and 24th (Dez Bryant)pick to get Devin McCourty is the one i laugh about the most

It’s always funny when you draft the best safety in the NFL, I almost peed myself when we drafted Rob Gronkowski in the second round…

 

[TonyTucker]

The 2009 draft did set them back several years, talent wise. They got to the Super Bowl two years later because of the offense, luck with a missed FG, and a joke of a road (think about it, they drew Tim Tebow and the Broncos to get to the AFCCG). In fact, I'd say nearly everything fell right for them that year. They were horrendous defending the pass, and got three teams that weren't that great at it, yet still couldn't close the deal.

Jake Ingram? He was good for one year, and then turned into a headcase. Chung was dung. Butler turned into a good CB, FOR THE COLTS. That makes it even worse, not better, that the Patriots couldn't get him to succeed here. Pryor was okay, but again, didn't see the field much.

 

[Brady6]

Why? McCourty's really good. If I was running the Pats and you offered me Dez Bryant for McCourty, right now, I'd say no.

I agree; what people don’t realize is Dez Bryant is the marquee offensive weapon on the Cowboys. We have Rob Gronkowski who as our marquee offensive weapon and he is a top 3 offensive weapon (non-QB) in the entire NFL along with Johnson Jr. and Peterson. Dez Bryant would not be nearly as valuable to this team as he is to the Cowboys; the same thing applies in Denver with Thomas.

I would say Gronkowski, Peterson, Johnson Jr., Charles, Green, Bryant, Jones, and a few others make up the top 10 offensive weapons. We were able to snag one of the top 3 by drafting Gronkowski and also add the top 1 or 2 safeties in the NFL today. That’s about as great a first 2 picks in the draft you can have...

 

[PatsDeb]

Well, since we have been top contenders for the past five years, even making it to the Super Bowl (where we lost, yes, but anything can happen in the playoffs), I am going to go out on a limb and say that the Pats haven't really had any big draft blunders in the past five years. Every pick is a crap shoot, and every team needs intangibles like chemistry to succeed. While we may have been able to get better players on paper at some positions, in most cases those players have not been the catalyst for their team winning the Superbowl, and in all cases, those players' teams have not done better than the Pats in the last 5 years.

I will say that the Pats made the best draft pick ever in the history of the NFL, and that would be, of course, Tom Brady.

 

[goheels22002]

Hands down. The worst pick of this or any era was Aaron Hernandez - possibly by any team in the history of the NFL.

No player in the history of the New England Patriots has so embarrassed this franchise, and put his teammates, coaches and owners in as difficult a position of having to overcome the distractions and questions associated with his decision to commit murder.

Every other team took a pass on this guy three times, and 17 teams passed a fourth time before the Patriots took him. Why? Because alarm bells went off that this multi-talented player was trouble.

There is not a single player that put his team a worse position than Hernandez from a personnel standpoint. The 2013 team was built on the premise that Gronkowski and Hernandez would be on the field causing nightmare matchups for other teams, and the decision to let Welker, at age 32, leave for little money was based in part on bringing in a guy like Amendola at age 27 who could flourish while Gronk and Hernandez drew all sorts of attention in the middle of the field. The decision to make the entire receiving corps younger, bigger, faster was based on having those TEs in various alignments with Vereen playing the Kevin Faulk role out of the backfield.

They paid Hernandez over the summer to be a special player along with Gronk that would allow them to build a receiving corps for the future. What does he do with that money and that responsibility?

Give me a break. 25 years from now people will be talking about what a mistake Aaron Hernandez was as a draft pick, as a player, as a person. People will be talking about him long after Ras I Dowling and guys like Chad Jackson, Adrian Klemm, and Hart Lee Dykes are long forgotten.

The Aaron Hernandez debacle is long from over with multiple murder trials in our future. He is, without a doubt, the worst pick ever.

We don't know how the 2013 season will play out, but as of this moment, I have huge admiration for the coaches and the players - especially Gronk - for moving on and playing so well after the mayhem created by Hernandez. His behavior would destroy many teams in the NFL. Our guys deserve a tremendous amount of admiration and respect for what they have done after all that they have been through.

 

[JackBauer]

Why? McCourty's really good. If I was running the Pats and you offered me Dez Bryant for McCourty, right now, I'd say no.

I don't understand it at all. I assume McCourty's detractors were in a prolonged coma from 2009-2011 and don't remember the revolving dumpster fire at safety and attendant complete inability to defend the long ball.

Bryant and Thomas are both fantastic players in their own right, but I have few (and by that I mean zero) qualms with picking up a top safety in the NFL.

 

[DarrylS]

Every team has hits and misses, at best the Draft is a crap shoot.. fortunately our brain trust has the aptitude to plan for every contingency...

13 winning seasons in a row, despite all the negativity...

 

[JackBauer]

Hands down. The worst pick of this or any era was Aaron Hernandez - possibly by any team in the history of the NFL.

Unless you believe the Patriots have Miss Cleo on retainer, this is complete hogwash.

 

[chasa]

of the last 5 years i'd say Ras-i. Compared to other teams thats not too terrible.

 

[unoriginal]

Can hardly be anyone other than Hernandez.

 

[coolguy]

Can hardly be anyone other than Hernandez.

You can't predict if someone is capable of being a murderer. OJ simpson seemed like fun and cool guy before everything went down.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

You can't predict if someone is capable of being a murderer. OJ simpson seemed like fun and cool guy before everything went down.

Yeah but only if Aaron had been like OJ and decided to go on his killing spree in his retirement years, then we would have had the benefit of a few more seasons (tongue firmly in cheek)

But really, you can't say that on talent Hernandez was a bad pick, he is currently I believe the only guy in prison who has every caught a TD pass in the Superbowl!

BTW, the "authorities" are having a tough time getting witnessess to testify against him, don't be shocked if he walks..... and then see who signs him.

As for the theme of this thread: Ras IR, by a mile

 

[SeymourTrophies]

I can't believe people are saying Hernandez. Are we calling the Patriots accessories to multiple murders?

For me, Dowling was salt in two wounds. It was another bad pick in the secondary and neglecting of the pass rush. Brace was bad, and Tavon Wilson looks like he's headed that way.

Cunningham was better than those three IMO because we at least got one serviceable season out of him, and he was okay before he popped positive last year.

 

[unoriginal]

You can't predict if someone is capable of being a murderer. OJ simpson seemed like fun and cool guy before everything went down.

Can't predict who is going to shred their ACL, suffer a career-ending concussion or spinal injury, develop diabetes, or who (referring directly to Dowling here) is going to destroy their hip in their second career game either.

Hernandez's totally premeditated and therefore preventable (alleged) crime hurt this team way more than Dowling unpremeditated injury.

The only way I see people avoiding this is by thinking injuries are a part of football and therefore are fair game for advance scouting, while murder executions are not and are beyond the ability of scouts to predict.

 

[JackBauer]

Hernandez's totally premeditated and therefore preventable (alleged) crime

You'll have to explain this one.