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(PHOTO: George Walker IV / Tennessean.com via Imagn Content Services, LLC) Bill Belichick may not be working for the Patriots next week, but he’ll still be putting in the hours when things kick off in Detroit for the NFL Draft next Thursday night.
The former Patriots head coach is set to make his first broadcast appearance next week, with Belichick set to co-host Pat McAfee’s 5th Annual Draft Spectacular next Thursday.
Belichick joined McAfee in a virtual appearance to make the announcement on Wednesday while sitting in front of a built-in cabinet that housed his six Super Bowl trophies.
“That’s my bling,” said Belichick.
The coach, who celebrated his 72nd birthday on Tuesday (“They called the fire department to put out the candles,” joked Belichick), told McAfee that he’s looking forward to being a part of this process while being on the other side of things.
“I’m looking forward to it,” said Belichick. “Draft Day, Draft weekend is always an exciting time for everybody. For the teams that are building their teams, and for the fans, and for everybody involved in it. It’s a great event, and I’m looking forward to seeing it from the other side. It will be fun to be in Detroit, and to be with you guys and get your expertise.”
McAfee pointed out that Belichick is not in an NFL building for the first time in 49 years, with the former Patriots coach also not involved in the NFL Draft for the first time in 48 years. However, Belichick has apparently been watching film on the players he expects them to discuss next week during the appearance, with preparation being the most important thing to him, as usual.
“Sort of what I’ve been doing. Watching the players, specifically the ones that might be involved in our show, so guys in the top part of the draft,” said Belichick. “But the first round leads into the second round, and there’s a lot of correlation there, so we’ll talk about that next Thursday night. Just trying to do some preparation and follow-up. I watched a lot of these guys in the fall and even some from last year when they were juniors or when they weren’t coming out, but they were still factors in evaluating the players in the ’23 draft. So, it’s just kind of an ongoing process. It’s fun to keep up with it. I always enjoy this part of the season.”
One interesting aspect to the interview was when Belichick provided a little bit of insight into how he looked at individual players. He said that when they drafted a player, they looked at who they felt he might be by their second season, which given how many careers have played out here in New England, certainly made a little more sense.
“In my experience, I think we’ve always graded a player for really what we think they’ll be in year two,” explained Belichick. “What will the player be in year two? Now, year two could be halfway through his rookie year, year two could be a year and a half. It might not be year two, it might be almost year three. But there’s a point where the player figures things out. He gets it. He understands professional football. He’s had a chance to train, to physically develop to a point where he can be at a very high competitive point, and then what do you have?”
“And I could cite a lot of different examples, but just going back to the Giants, Phil Sims, everybody talked about what a bust he was, and he was a great, great player but he played in some tough circumstances his rookie and second year, had a couple of unfortunate injuries. But Phil’s a tough guy, he was a tough player. There was no softness in him, he was as competitive as they get. But the fans were on him, ‘We blew it on Phil Sims, We blew it on Mark Haynes,’ there’s another guy that turned out to be an All-Pro cornerback who didn’t play his rookie year.”
“Brady didn’t play his rookie year, and we have Tom Brady. You judge Tom Brady after his first year, and you have literally nothing. We’re talking about the greatest player that’s ever played. Lawrence Taylor was a different story. Lawrence Taylor, from day one, impacted the team, showed he was the best player on the field, played better than everybody else and built the defense around him going forward. So it’s different with different players.”
“But I’d say once the player figures it out, once he’s had a chance to physically develop, especially for linemen, sometimes those guys need a little bit of time, or the technique on the offensive line, in particular, is something that can take a little bit of time. Quarterback is another position. But once they figure it out, then that’s when you know what you have, and it’s usually not day one of his rookie year.”
“I would say Lawence Taylor would be kind of the one exception to that rule. But there’s not too many guys, maybe like [Stephen] Gostkowksi, a kicker. You know, could come in, Pat [McAfee], you come into kick, from day one, if the skills are at a high enough level, you can see the impact already. But a lot of the positions, it just takes a little bit more time.”
Obviously, when it comes to quarterbacks, that’s certainly going to be the key question. He’s already been through it recently with both Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe, and while he held back his analysis for next week, he did tell McAfee that when it comes to quarterbacks, the next step to the NFL is going to be significantly different for all of them.
“I think we’ll see some video of what they do well, what they have trouble with, what they need to work on and what are NFL plays and what really aren’t NFL plays,” said Belichick. “Because I’d say there’s a lot of plays these quarterbacks make, they’re just not going to make in the National Football League, like, they’re just not going to make. And then the ones that they will make, if you see them make those over and over again, I think that’s a pretty good sign that they can do it. And then I’d say there’s other examples of players that, if they can figure out how they need to play in the National Football League, they’ll be really good. But it’s not the way they played in college. It’s just a different game.”
Patriots Director of Scouting and De-facto GM Eliot Wolf is set to meet with reporters this morning at 10am, which will hopefully provide some insight ahead of next Thursday night’s draft. This is only Wolf’s second press conference since we last heard from him ahead of the Scouting Combine. … CFL QB Nathan Rourke spent some time yesterday behind Gillette Stadium throwing with T.J. Luther, with his throwing coach Rob Williams looking on. Rourke quietly remains putting in the time behind the scenes as he tries to carve out a role on the club’s depth chart. … The ESPN report about Belichick has Cowboys fans buzzing in Dallas. Mike McCarthy is heading into the final year of his contract, with the fact Jerry Jones didn’t give him a one-year extension coming off last season potentially signaling his days could be numbered. Should McCarthy’s club stumble again this season, the possibility of Belichick landing there suddenly feels a little more real. … Some sad news: AJ Simon, a standout edge rusher from Albany University – who had recently taken a pre-draft visit with the Patriots last week – has reportedly passed away. According to PennLive.com, head coach Greg Gattuso posted about Simon’s passing on Twitter, with the football team also expressing its sorrow for his loss. “Two joyous years coaching and becoming friends with AJ Simon,” he wrote. “My prayers are dedicated to the Simon family. I love you AJ and will always have a special player in my heart for #8.” No official cause of death has been revealed for the 25-year old, who is certainly gone far too soon.
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