The 2016 NFL Draft is almost here and although the New England Patriots<\/strong><\/a> don\u2019t have a first round draft pick due to the Deflategate sanctions by the league, with 11 draft picks they have a lot of capital to play with.<\/p>\n We went back and made a list of our Top 5 drafts in the Patriots history. And the 2016 class will have some big shoes to fill if one day they want to be included in the group of the top drafts in franchise history.<\/p>\n There was a lot of material to go through so we looked for impact players that contributed a lot of success to the team for an extended period of time. And while there is plenty of room for debate as to what year\u2019s class gets in and which doesn\u2019t everyone one of these draft classes was a haul for the team.<\/p>\n So without further ado, here\u2019s our Top Five Patriots\u2019 Draft Classes of All time<\/strong>:<\/p>\n #5 \u2013 Patriots Draft Class of 1977:<\/font><\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n During the Chuck Fairbanks era he was always known as a superb talent evaluator and many of his drafts were among the top classes in the Patriots history. The 1977 Patriots class has four impact players in the first four picks that served the team well thru the success of the late 1970s and into the franchise\u2019s first Super Bowl appearance in the \u201880s.<\/p>\n Raymond Clayborn<\/strong>, DB, Texas 1st<\/sup> Round 16th<\/sup> Overall pick: Clayborn was one of the best, most dominant cornerbacks in Patriots team history. Coincidentally, he is a finalist again this season for the team Hall of Fame. Clayborn had a long career going from 1977 \u2013 1989 and was remarkably durable, setting the Patriots record for consecutive starts at 161.<\/p>\n He still shares the Patriots record for interceptions (36), with Ty Law which he returned for 555 yards and a touchdown. He was also a stellar kick returner, returning 57 for 1538 yards and three touchdowns. Clayborn led the Pats in interceptions four times (1979-80, 84, 88). He was a three-time Pro Bowler (1983, ’85-86); as well as a member of the Patriots 35th<\/sup> Anniversary Team.<\/p>\n Stanley Morgan, WR, Tennessee 1st Round 25th<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong> Despite this, Morgan still put up some very impressive numbers. He played in 180 games from 1977 to 1989 and caught 534 receptions and holds the franchise record with 10,352 receiving yards with an incredible 19.4 yards per catch average for his career with 67 touchdowns.<\/p>\n Morgan had 38 career 100-yard receiving games in his career and was selected to four Pro Bowls (1979-80, 86, 87). He was a key component of the Patriots AFC Championship in 1985.He’s a member of the Patriots 35th Anniversary Team in 1994, the Patriots Team of the Century in 2000.<\/p>\n Horace Ivory, RB, Oklahoma 2nd Round 44th<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong> He played in 58 games with 12 starts and rushed for 1,336 yards on 329 carries and 14 touchdowns. He also had 49 receptions for 433 yards and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n In 1980 Ivory became the Patriots primary kick returner and led the AFC with a 27.6-yard kick return average, finishing with 45 kickoff returns for 1,191 yards, including a 98 yard return for a touchdown against the then Baltimore Colts.<\/p>\n Don Hasselbeck, TE, Colorado 2nd round 52nd<\/sup> Overall: <\/strong> #4 \u2013 Patriots Draft Class of 2003:<\/font><\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n Arguably Bill Belichick\u2019s best draft haul to date. This draft class had several impact players that helped the team win Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX and beyond.<\/p>\n Ty Warren, DT, Texas A&M 1st round 13th<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong> He and Richard Seymour with the edge setters and interior pass rushers for several Patriots teams. He was a key member of three Patriots Super Bowl teams<\/p>\n Eugene Wilson, CB, Illinois 2nd round 36th<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong> He recovered a fumble from Philly\u2019s L.J. Smith in Super Bowl XXIX and intercepted Ben Roethlisberger twice in the AFC Championship Game that same year.<\/p>\n Bethel Johnson, WR, Texas A&M 2nd round 45th<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong> He notched 30 receptions for 450 yards and four touchdowns in 30 regular season games. Johnson was part of the Super Bowl XXXVIII and XXXIX winning teams.<\/p>\n Asante Samuel, CB, Central Florida, 4th round 120th<\/sup> Overall: He played in 75 games with 55 starts and had 22 interceptions for 313 yards during five seasons with the Patriots including three for touchdowns. He was a member of the 2007 Pro-Bowl but in Super Bowl XLII his dropped interception against the Giants is what he is (unfairly or not), most remembered for.<\/p>\n Dan Koppen, C, Boston College, 5th round 164th<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong> Koppen started 119 of 120 games at center in his Patriots career. During his time in a NE uniform, the Pats won six division championships, three conference titles and two Super Bowl championships. He was part of the 2009 OL that allowed only 18 sacks on the season, the lowest since the 16 game schedule was introduced in 1978. Koppen is a member of the Patriots All-2000s Team.<\/p>\n Tully Banta-Cain, LB, Cal, 7th round 239th<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong> He played in 85 games with 21 starts and tallied 135 career tackles and 23.5 sacks while a member of the Patriots. He led the team in sacks with 10 in 2009 and was a member of two Super Bowl Championship teams (XXXVIII and XXXIX).<\/p>\n #3 \u2013 Patriots Draft Class\u00a01973:<\/font><\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n Chuck Fairbanks first draft with the Patriots was a home run, he nailed a Pro Football Hall of Fame member with his first pick. After drafting poorly for years, the Patriots were building a team for the future and Fairbanks laid the ground work for some of the franchise\u2019s best teams outside of the Super Bowl years with this first draft. Sam Cunningham, RB, USC 1st round 11th<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong> Cunningham was the Patriots leading rusher for six seasons and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1978 after totaling 1,065 combined yards with 768 rushing yards with 297 yards on 31 receptions. That Patriots team set the NFL record for most rushing yards in a season with 3,165 total yards which is still an NFL record. \u00a0His 49 overall touchdowns are third in team history and he ranks eighth on the Patriots all-time scoring list with 294 points.<\/p>\n Darryl Stingley, WR, Purdue, 1st round 19th<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong> In 60 games for the Patriots with 53 starts, he had 110 receptions for 1,883 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also had 28 carries for 244 yards and two touchdowns, 19 punt returns for 136 yards and eight kickoff returns for 187 yards. His too-short NFL career ended with 2,450 combined yards rushing, receiving and returning both punts and kickoffs. Hamilton played in 132 regular season games with 117 starts over nine seasons and two playoff games for the Patriots He notched 54 career sacks which for a nose tackle in the interior was very impressive. \u00a0He’s also recovered 14 fumbles, one for a touchdown, and blocked two field-goal attempts in his Patriots career.<\/p>\n #2 \u2013 Patriots Draft Class of 1995:<\/font><\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n With just seven picks in the 1995 draft, Bill Parcells hit it out of the park with five of his selections playing key roles in not only a Super Bowl berth against Green Bay but for years to come. One selection, Curtis Martin is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Another, Ty Law\u2026should be.<\/p>\n Ty Law, CB, Michigan 1st round 23rd<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong> He\u2019s tied for first with Raymond Clayborn on the Patriots’ all-time interceptions list with 36 career picks. \u00a0His biggest in a career with so many including several against Peyton Manning in the playoffs has to be the 47-yard interception return for a touchdown in Super Bowl XXXVI against Kurt Warner and the Rams. At the time it was the sixth interception returned for a touchdown in Super Bowl history. Law played in four Super Bowls for the Patriots, winning three and was a 4-time Pro Bowler (five overall), and a two-time All-Pro for New England.<\/p>\n He\u2019s a member of the 1990\u2019s, 2000\u2019s Patriots All Decade Team, the 50th<\/sup> Anniversary Team and the team\u2019s Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n Ted Johnson, LB, 2nd round (57th overall), Colorado<\/strong> He played in 125 regular season games and notched 763 tackles, 11.5 sacks, six forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries. He too played on four Super Bowl teams winning three (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX).<\/p>\n Curtis Martin, RB, Pitt, 3rd round 74th<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong> He was named to two pro bowls (1995-96), rushed for a franchise record 166 yards and three touchdowns in his first career playoff game against the Steelers; rushed for 42 yards, caught three passes for 28 yards, and scored a touchdown in Super Bowl XXXI.<\/p>\n He is listed as fourth on the all-time Patriots rushing list with 3,799 yards. He’s ranked 16th on the club’s all-time scoring list (226 total points). He left with Parcells to the Jets after the 1997 season.<\/p>\n Jimmy Hitchcock, CB, UNC 3rd round 88th<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong> Dave Wohlabaugh, C, Syracuse 4th round 112th<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong> #1 \u2013 Patriots Draft Class of 1976<\/font><\/font><\/strong><\/p>\n The Big Daddy of them all, this is the Gold Standard that all drafts will be measured against. Once again Fairbanks showed his skill at recognizing and developing players that would go on to have long productive careers. His first pick Michael Haynes is a member of the Patriots and the Pro Football Halls of Fame.<\/p>\n Mike Haynes, DB, Arizona State, 1st round 5th<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong> He played in 90 games with 86 starts for the Patriots. Haynes was the first Patriot to return a punt for a touchdown and is currently fourth on the Patriots all-time punt return list with 111 returns for 1,159 yards and two touchdowns. Haynes is also a member of the College Hall of Fame as well. He left after the 1982 season and played 7 seasons with the Oakland Raiders.<\/p>\n Pete Brock, C, Colorado, 1st round 12th<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong> Brock was a player the coaches love and would plug and play anywhere where he was needed. He started at center 78 times, left guard 3 times, left tackle 6 times and at right guard once in the 154 regular season games for the Patriots.<\/p>\n Brock was a key cog on the offensive line when the Patriots were building a juggernaut of a running game, in 1976 with 2,948 yards with an outstanding 5.0 average yards per rush and 24 rushing touchdowns. As well as the 1978 team that set the standard for rushing with 3165 yards. His nickname was for his sliding out and catching a 6-yard touchdown pass from Steve Grogan against the Jets in his rookie year. He played six seasons in New England and appeared and started in all 91 regular season games at safety. Fox had 17 interceptions (14th all-time) for 215 yards, recovered seven fumbles, four sacks, blocked an extra point against Green Bay in 1979, and recorded a safety against the Bills in 1978.<\/p>\n He was selected to the 1980 AFC Pro Bowl, and was selected as a member of the Patriots All-70s team.<\/p>\n Honorable Mentions: 1988 and 1993 Draft Classes<\/strong><\/p>\n Follow me on Twitter\u00a0<\/em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or email me at\u00a0<\/em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Listen to our\u00a0<\/em>Patriots 4th<\/sup>\u00a0and 2<\/em><\/a>\u00a0podcast on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from\u00a0<\/em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We went back and made a list of our Top 5 drafts in the Patriots history. And the 2016 class will have some big shoes to fill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2456,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_pfeai_meta_description":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[890,11],"tags":[1009,1008,1012,1011,1010,886,833,799,48,1006,34,515,1007,44,70,8,1005],"class_list":["post-5853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-2016-nfl-draft","category-patriots-commentary","tag-1973-patriots-draft","tag-1976-patriots-draft","tag-1977-patriots-draft","tag-1995-patriots-draft","tag-2003-patriots-draft","tag-2016-nfl-combine","tag-2016-nfl-draft","tag-2016-patriots-roster","tag-53-man-roster-projection","tag-best-patriots-drafts-of-all-time","tag-bill-belichick","tag-bill-parcells","tag-chuck-fairbanks","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-patriots","tag-patriots-draft"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nStanley \u201cSteamer\u201d is a member of the Patriots Hall of Fame, inducted in 2007 and was a classic deep field burner although he played in a very run-heavy era with the Patriots.<\/p>\n
\nPart of the Sooner pipeline during Fairbanks\u2019 tenure, the 6\u20190, 197-pound Ivory played for the Patriots for five seasons before being traded to the Seattle Seahawks during the 1981 season.<\/p>\n
\nHasselbeck was a big tight end at 6\u20197, 245 pounds and played 86 games in seven seasons for New England. He totaled 99 receptions for 1,444 yards (14.6 yards per catch average) and 15 touchdowns.<\/p>\n
\nIn seven+ seasons in New England, the 6\u20195 300-pound Warren played in 105 regular season games and 15 playoff games for the Patriots. \u00a0He notched 373 tackles (252 solo), with 20.5 sacks, six fumble recoveries and four forced fumbles.<\/p>\n
\nWilson played five seasons with the Patriots from 2003-2007 and was a key contributor in three Super Bowl teams. In 62 regular season games, and 10 playoff games in New England he tallied 10 interceptions for 74 yards and one touchdown and recovered four fumbles.<\/p>\n
\nThe second A&M draft pick from the 2003 class, Johnson was a burner with outstanding speed but could never catch on with the Patriots offense. He was however a dangerous kick returner and is fourth Patriots all-time kickoff returner with 102 kickoff returns for 2,557 yards and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Remembered now for the \u2018one that got away\u2019 Samuel was a solid cornerback that was a key part of three Super Bowl teams.<\/p>\n
\nKoppen was a tough, durable,if slightly undersized center who played in five Super Bowls (4 in NE, 1 in Den). He played for the Patriots from 2003 \u2013 2011 and was a member of the Pro Bowl and a Second Team All-Pro in 2007.<\/p>\n
\nBanta-Cain was a 6\u20192, 250-pound linebacker that had two different stints with the Patriots (2003-06, 2009-10), and had a fairly productive career.<\/p>\n
\n
\nJohn Hannah, OG, Alabama, 1st round 4th<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong>
\nHannah became the first Patriots player to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Sports Illustrated called him the best OL ever back in the 1970\u2019s. He and Leon Gray were the cornerstones to a devastating NE rushing attack during the Fairbanks years. \u00a0He was selected as a Pro Bowl guard nine times. He played in 183 regular season games, seven playoff games, including Super Bowl XX<\/p>\n
\nSam \u201cBam\u201d Cunningham played in 107 games with 94 starts from 1973-79 and 81-82 for the Patriots and is still the franchise leader with 5,453 career rushing yards. His 43 rushing touchdowns are second all-time behind Jim Nance (45). He also added 210 receptions out of the backfield.<\/p>\n
\nStingley was a very talented wide receiver whose career was cut short after just 60 games when he suffered a spinal cord injury in a pre-season game against the Oakland Raiders.<\/p>\n
\n
\nRay Hamilton, DT, Oklahoma, 14th round 342nd<\/sup> Overall:<\/strong>
\n\u2018Sugar Bear\u2019 Ray Hamilton played for Fairbanks at Oklahoma and became the nose tackle in the Patriots 3-4 defense that Fairbanks installed in New England. The Patriots defense under Bill Belichick was very much the same one with minor tweaking that the team installed in 1973 and Hamilton was the key cog in the middle.<\/p>\n
\nLaw was arguably the best cornerback ever to wear a Patriots uniform and in our opinion belongs in Canton with the greats.<\/p>\n
\nJohnson was a tough, physical linebacker for the Patriots who was known for his smarts and unselfish play. His career was cut short prior to the 2005 season because of repeated concussions suffered while a member of New England.<\/p>\n
\nMartin is a 2012 member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a member of the Jets. However, he won the Offensive Rookie of the Year with 1,487 yards rushing as a member of the Patriots.<\/p>\n
\nHitchcock was the right corner back for the Patriots from 1995-97 and played in 37 games with 20 starts and totaled 120 tackles and four interceptions. He still holds the franchise record for the longest interception return, 100-yards vs Miami (11\/23\/97)<\/p>\n
\nWohlabaugh was a tough durable center who played in and started 57 games for the Patriots. \u00a0He also appeared in and started six playoff games, including Super Bowl XXXI against Green Bay. He left as a free agent and played four years with Cleveland and a final season with St. Louis.<\/p>\n
\nHaynes was a tall 6\u20192, 195-pound cornerback that was a shut-down corner and an outstanding kick returner for the Patriots. In seven seasons in a Patriots uniform, Haynes was named to the Pro Bowl six times and had 28 interceptions (6th all-time).<\/p>\n
\nPete \u2018Deep Threat\u2019 Brock was one of the most versatile offensive linemen to ever wear a Patriots uniform. He once played left tackle, long-snapper, tight end and H-back for the Patriots \u2026.in the same offensive series.<\/p>\n
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\nTim Fox, DB, Ohio State, 1st round 21st overall:<\/strong>
\nFox was an outstanding safety that played for the Patriots for six seasons (1976-81), before leaving for San Diego and the Rams.<\/p>\n