Is this the best Patriots draft class since 2000?

[NovaScotiaPatsFan]

There was a graphic during the broadcast last night showing #of plays by rookies for like the top 4 teams in that category and I believe the Patriots were #2, which is remarkable considering we're at the top of the league standings.

I'm not massively into the Draft. I generally watch the first round with my brother but I'm not one of those fans who's knee deep in Mock drafts the minute the Super Bowl has ended. So I'm wondering what all of you, my more learned colleagues in Pats fandom, think of this year's draft class. Is it the best since the GOAT's?

 

[DaBruinz]

I'd say it's the best since 2003..
That class had:
Ty Warren - 7 year stud
Eugene Wilson - 4 solid years
Bethel Johnson - decent returner / below average receiver
Dan Klecko - carved out a 6 yr career for himself.
Asante Samuel - turned into one of the top 10 CBs in the league for 11 yearss
Dan Koppen - 10 year starter
Kliff Kingsbury - Future NFL HC
Spencer Nead (the only complete miss of the class)
Tully Banta Cain - serviceable DE
Ethan Kelley - ended up in Cleveland for 3 years.

2005 was a very decent class as well.
2010 was a very good class for the Pats with McCourty, Gronk and others.

 

[TheRainMaker]

The 2000 class as a whole was actually awful. Had NE kept their pick for BB, I think Shaun Alexander would’ve been taken by them in the 1st round.

2010 was their best class followed by 2003.

 

[NovaScotiaPatsFan]

The 2000 class as a whole was actually awful. Had NE kept their pick for BB, I think Shaun Alexander would’ve been taken by them in the 1st round.

2010 was their best class followed by 2003.

Yes, but given we picked the greatest player to ever play the game as a whole it was still the best, even if we'd picked literal corpses at every other choice.

 

[203Pat]

If you remove getting ridiculously lucky on Brady that was a very bad draft. Greg Robinson-Randall might have been the best pick out of the non-Brady group and he was an average tackle at best.

 

[JMC00]

2010 had McCourty & Gronk

 

[Toofy]

3rd most snaps by rookies in NFL and other teams are browns, jets and titans I believe and we have more wins than all 3 combined.

That should give an idea of how effective this year draft class has been .

And we had to literally trade or cut starters from prior years and have few underperforming starters on lineup due to sunk cost and lack of alternatives ( rham)

Keoin white
Dugger
Bourne
Peppers

The weak schedule helped us , but team building by Vrabel and company was insane.

 

[stinkypete]

The 2000 class looks poor (Brady aside), but it produced a lot of guys who key moments in the 2001 championship run - JR Redmond, Greg Robinson-Randall, Antwan Harris. And, for what it's worth, the 5th round pick we got for Randall became Dan Koppen.

Not an all timer, but 2000 was better than a whole lot of other Belichick drafts.

Right now, I'd rank the 2003, 2009 (Chung, Vollmer, Edelman) and 2010 drafts as more impactful than 2020, but there is plenty of story left to be told.

 

[Steve102]

1995 class was future HoFers Ty Law and Curtis Martin, with Ted Johnson, and long time starters Jimmy Hitchcock and Dave Wolabaugh.
1996 had Glenn, Milloy and Bruschi, with a slew of contributors.
Any talk of top drafts should start with those two. Foundational players for the Super Bowls to come.

EDIT: My bad... since 2000.

 

[farn]

Yes, but given we picked the greatest player to ever play the game as a whole it was still the best, even if we'd picked literal corpses at every other choice.

By that standard, 2024 was a homerun. Let's keep it real, back then we'd ALL have taken "franchise QB and not much more" !

I'd go 2003, then 2010. I also liked the the 2012 draft a lot. Too early to tell, but I would rate all three of those ahead of 2025 - but I'm very open to the possibility that this year's haul moves ahead in the years to come.

#RayForever
#WhiteNonKillingOutfit

 

[NovaScotiaPatsFan]

By that standard, 2024 was a homerun. Let's keep it real, back then we'd ALL have taken "franchise QB and not much more" !

I'd go 2003, then 2010. I also liked the the 2012 draft a lot. Too early to tell, but I would rate all three of those ahead of 2025 - but I'm very open to the possibility that this year's haul moves ahead in the years to come.

#RayForever
#WhiteNonKillingOutfit

Really I'm just pulling an influencer scam and saying something stupid to generate engagement...

 

[203Pat]

Bill was a very good drafter early in the dynasty run. Some drafts like 2001 he hit big on the high picks like Seymour and Light but didn't get much from the mid to late rounders. Then he had other drafts like 2002 where Daniel Graham was an underwhelming first rounder but Deion Branch, Jarvis Green, and David Givens were all big parts of the early dynasty teams.

2006-2008 were relatively weak drafts (along with some questionable personnel moves) that contributed to some deterioration of the roster by 2009. Then he had home run drafts in 2010 and 2012 with a solid 2011 class sandwiched in between and some of the 2009 class emerging and those guys spingboarded us to the second half of the dynasty.

 

[farn]

Bill was a very good drafter early in the dynasty run. Some drafts like 2001 he hit big on the high picks like Seymour and Light but didn't get much from the mid to late rounders. Then he had other drafts like 2002 where Daniel Graham was an underwhelming first rounder but Deion Branch, Jarvis Green, and David Givens were all big parts of the early dynasty teams.

2006-2008 were relatively weak drafts (along with some questionable personnel moves) that contributed to some deterioration of the roster by 2009. Then he had home run drafts in 2010 and 2012 with a solid 2011 class sandwiched in between and some of the 2009 class emerging and those guys spingboarded us to the second half of the dynasty.

offseason before 2007 : not a weak haul if you wanna add personel decisions ! Welker, Moss, et al.

 

[203Pat]

offseason before 2007 : not a weak haul if you wanna add personel decisions ! Welker, Moss, et al.

Yeah. Should have caveated the 2007 offseason which fueled the 16-0 year.