primetime
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2005
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Brady is the statistical outlier, the mega millions lottery pick.
Richard Seymour was drafted with the 6th pick of the 2001 draft when the Patriots had gone 5-11 in the 2000 season.
Ty Warren was drafted at the 13th spot of the 2003 draft (after a trade up) when the Patriots had gone 9-7 in 2002.
Vince Wilfork was drafted at the 21st spot of the 2004 draft from a pick I believe was from the 2003 season.
For reference: from 2012 to 2017, the Patriots drafted at an average position of 30th in each round (based on end-of-the-year record, not including the 2016 first round forfeiture or for trades).
Not that NFL GMs are infallible, far from it, but there is a reason that certain players fall to where the Patriots actually have a shot at drafting them.
As we all know, there is a definite risk to drafting a player with a Round One talent but with Round Four knees.
Yeah, I'm well aware. I wasn't trying to be harsh on Belichick. The draft is a crapshoot, I legitimately think it's 98% luck. The Patriots simply haven't gotten lucky since 2012 except arguably with White, Flowers, and Butler in the way they did much more often from 2000-2012, though it's still too early to tell on some of these picks. To say they've drafted worse is simply to explain the generally lower level of talent on today's team, which is still buoyed in a very real way by Brady, not contend that someone is remiss in their duties.