This 1000%. Howie just uses his common sense, something that is in very short supply of the vast majority of other general managers in the league. He tries to resurrect career of first rounders and other highly rated players. It’s not like for the most part, he’s picking diamonds in the rough. The one huge exception is Jordan Mailatta who he did kind of find in the hinterlands.
If Belichick had not tried to portray himself as such a genius who could make any crappy player into a star and he had picked consensus draft picks for the past 5 to 7 years this team would not be in the position it is today. However, Bill was such a narcissist that he had to always go against the common grain And avoid talented players like the plague.