Post 2017 he still won a SB. Being a GM is about more than just drafting. And even then 2000-2023 was excellent drafting despite a small window that wasn't great. So what if he has a small drought.
So very true, which is why the “he drafted X when he could have drafted Y” is not really as strong an argument as people think, even though so many of us (me included) fall into doing it. Not every guy who flourishes somewhere would do the same on a different team, with different coaches, schemes, teammates, salary structures, and working environments. I think about Deion Branch as an example. If they had been able to keep him with the Pats instead of losing him, we could be talking about a HOF career given the unusually quick and strong connection he had with Brady.
Player leadership matters a lot too when it comes to getting guys integrated well. The first run had an unusually strong set of player leaders, with McGinest, Bruschi, Vrabel, Law, Harrison, Faulk, and Troy Brown. The later run had Hightower, Slater, and McCourty. Obviously they also had the super leader in Brady.
When I reflect on what happened these past 5 seasons, in regard to BB, while the misses in the draft are undeniable IMHO, I have as much disappointment regarding how poorly he and his staff did in developing and scheming to accentuate guys, they were not nearly as good there as they had been in the championship years. Look how well they did with Reche Caldwell, Gabney, and Welker in comparison to the more recent cases of Thornton, Agholar, or Jonnu Smith. I also suspect that as the years went by, BB became too dependent on McDaniels and Scarnecchia and when they left he really struggled with their replacements. He did not have a succession plan in place when McDaniels left and thst is almost inexcusable for someone at Bill’s level. And of course most significantly he ****ed up with Brady which damaged the team both on the field and off of it. That may have been unavoidable given Brady’s off field personal turmoil and the influence of Alex Guerrero, but BB didn’t manage the situation well enough.