Who ranks as the top 5 greatest Patriots low round draft picks?

[TruthSeeker]

Also worth mentioning: Randy Vataha was a 17th round pick by the Rams in 1971, was cut in pre-season, and picked up as a free agent - but doesn't count since he wasn't drafted by the Pats.

An interesting note about Randy. He was the picked by the Rams in the last round. A secretary of the L.A. Rams got to pick him; she picked him because she "liked his looks".

Of course, Randy Vataha only got even that cursory interest because he had teamed up with Jim Plunkett (they both graduated from Stanford) so often. That is why the Patriots ended up getting him as a free agent - Jim Plunkett pushed hard for him.

In one of Plunkett's early years, he got hit hard and suffered a mild concussion. When he went back to the huddle, he called not a play from the Patriot's playbook, but from the Stanford playbook which sent Randy Vataha on a deep route. No one else knew what was going on, but Randy went deep and Jim threw him the ball for a completion (and, I think, a TD). So much for sophistication.

 

[Wotan_the_Wanderer]

Brady
Troy
Grogan
Coates
Cassel (only if he's traded for multiple picks including a first rounder)

 

[mgteich]

Almost all the players mentioned were worth a frist rounder. Cassel has given us three years on the bench and a non-playoff year and will likely be traded for a first. Look at the list. Many were worth more to the patriots than that, and could be your #5. Certainly Nance, Hunt, Hamilton and Buoiniconti are long before Cassel.

Brady
Troy
Grogan
Coates
Cassel (only if he's traded for multiple picks including a first rounder)

 

[Wotan_the_Wanderer]

Almost all the players mentioned were worth a frist rounder. Cassel has given us three years on the bench and a non-playoff year and will likely be traded for a first. Look at the list. Many were worth more to the patriots than that, and could be your #5. Certainly Nance, Hunt, Hamilton and Buoiniconti are long before Cassel.

Well, with the exception of Hamilton, they were all certainly long before me. Also, I hardly think it's a certainty that Sugar Bear would have returned a first rounder + in a trade.