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Drafting in the NFL is a difficult thing to do well, as former head coach and GM of the New England Patriots Bill Belichick knows well.
He had a good run as GM, but the later years were not kind to him and he missed out on some really good players. Everyone does, but it's fair to wonder if he'd still have his job if he'd made a few less bad blunders in the draft over the last decade.
Listing Patriots' worst draft picks under Bill Belichick
The 2019 draft was brutal for New England, perhaps their worst first-round blunder. They took N'Keal Harry to close out round one and passed on:
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- Deebo Samuel
- AJ Brown
- Miles Sanders
- DK Metcalf
- Diontae Johnson
- Terry McLaurin
- Dawson Knox
- CJ Gardner-Johnson
- Maxx Crosby
- Tony Pollard
- Dre Greenlaw
It proved to be a historic class for pass-catchers, especially wide receiver and yet, the Patriots landed Harry instead of all of them.
In 2015, the New Enland Patriots took Malcolm Brown with pick 32. That's where they could have had Landon Collins, Donovan Smith, Mario Edwards, Eric Kendricks, Denzel Perryman, Frank Clark, Tyler Lockett, Za'Darius Smith, Kwon Alexander, Stefon Diggs, Quandre Diggs or even Darren Waller.
At the time (2021), and even into his rookie season, Mac Jones looked like the perfect pick. However, he didn't even make it to a second contract, and he was traded for a sixth-round pick.
They could have had Travis Etienne, Greg Newsome, Javonte Williams, Landon Dickerson, Pat Freiermuth or Creed Humphrey, and that's just in the first two rounds after New England's pick.
The year 2016 didn't produce a first-round pick, but Bill Belichick spent his earliest pick (60 overall) on Cyrus Jones. He was immediately followed by Vonn Bell and James Bradberry. The Pats also could have had Kevin Byard, Yannick Ngakoue, Justin Simmons, Matt Judon or Tyreek Hill.
In 2017, they also did not have a first-rounder and didn't have a second-round pick. So, at 83rd overall, they picked Derek Rivers over Chris Godwin and a couple of picks before Kareem Hunt. Eddie Jackson, George Kittle and Aaron Jones went later in this draft, too.
In 2014, the Patriots selected Domonique Easley in round one. He is no longer in the NFL at all, and the picks that followed were so much better. Bradley Roby and Jimmie Ward went right after to help close out round one, and DeMarcus Lawrence, Joel Bitonio, Kyle Van Noy, Davante Adams, Morgan Moses, Corey Linsley and Shelby Harris all went in the later rounds.
The 2022 NFL Draft saw New England take Cole Strange, who has been fine. He's hardly a bust, but the options make it look a little worse. George Karlaftis went right after Strange, and Christian Watson, Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker, Cam Jurgens and James Cook went in the first two rounds.
Christian Gonzalez, 2023's pick, is far from bad and is still extremely young. The jury is out, but it's fair to say that the Patriots could have landed Jordan Addison, Zay Flowers, Dalton Kincaid, Sam LaPorta, Rashee Rice, Tank Dell or Puka Nacua.
