With the 2015 NFL Draft now behind us and rookie minicamps underway, there still are a few teams whose drafts we have yet to analyze. The New England Patriots are one of them and as we speak the franchise is in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Monday saw the NFL hand down their punishments to both the Pats and quarterback Tom Brady as a result of the findings from the Wells report that investigated the now infamous Deflategate saga during the 2015 AFC Championship game. Brady was given a four-game suspension without pay and the franchise as a whole was fined $1,000,000 and docked a first-round draft pick in 2016 as well as a fourth-round pick in 2017.
But back to reviewing their draft. The Pats had a whopping 11 selections in 2015, which was the result of two compensatory picks and a handful of draft day trades orchestrated by head coach Bill Belichick. Year in and year out, he’s never been one to shy away from a little wheeling and dealing from round to round.
Each pick is listed below by round and overall selection number.
First round (32nd overall): Malcolm Brown, defensive tackle, Texas
Second round (64th overall): Jordan Richards, strong safety, Stanford
Third round (97th overall, compensatory selection): Geneo Grissom, defensive end, Oklahoma
Fourth round (101st overall): Trey Flowers, defensive end, Arkansas
Fourth round (111th overall): Tre’ Jackson, offensive guard, Florida State
Fourth round (131st overall): Shaq Mason, center, Georgia Tech
Fifth round (166th overall): Joe Cardona, long snapper, Navy
Sixth round (178th overall): Matthew Wells, linebacker, Mississippi State
Sixth round (202nd overall): A.J. Derby, tight end, Arkansas
Seventh round (247th overall): Darryl Roberts, cornerback, Marshall
Seventh round (253rd overall, compensatory pick): Xzavier Dickson, outside linebacker, Alabama
Now that you’re done catching your breath after reading all those picks, let’s take a look at some of the transactions that took place to acquire them all.
New England traded their third (96th) and seventh (219th) round picks to Cleveland for the Browns fourth (111th), fifth (147th), and sixth round (202nd) picks.
New England’s first pick in the fourth round (101st) was acquired in an August 2014 trade that sent Logan Mankins to Tampa Bay in exchange for tight end Tim Wright.
New England traded the fifth round pick (147th) they acquired from Cleveland to Green Bay in exchange for the Packers’ fifth (166th) and seventh round (247th) picks.
New England Patriots 2015 NFL Draft Review
Best Player Selected: Malcolm Brown
Brown was mocked as high as the middle of the first round so for the Patriots to have landed him with the final pick of that round was massive. Not only did they get excellent value with this pick, but it filled one of their most glaring holes in the wake of Vince Wilfork’s departure. He has great versatility as a defensive lineman which should fit in well on the front end of the Pats’ 4-3 base defense, where he could be slotted into a variety of spots.
Biggest Head-Scratcher: Jordan Richards
This was a puzzling selection on two separate fronts. Firstly, the Patriots are fairly set in the interior of the secondary with Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung fairly established. Second, Richards was projected as a middle round pick at best. Some scouts even had him not going until the sixth or seventh round. Having said all that, New England picked him with the last pick of round two.
Richards is supremely intelligent and appears to exhibit good leadership skills. He was a team captain at Stanford and won the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete award in 2014, which is a pretty big accomplishment at a school with such academic prestige. Nevertheless, his pro prospects will be limited unless he can vastly improve his game instincts and coverage ability.
Most Surprising Pick: A.J. Derby
In addition to some guy by the name of Rob Gronkowski, who I hear is pretty good, the Patriots return two other tight ends (Tim Wright and Michael Hoomanawanui) and also signed Scott Chandler after he was released by Buffalo. That’s what makes the selection of Derby a tad on the unexpected side.
The Arkansas product has a single year of experience playing tight end for the Razorbacks. He actually began his college career at Iowa before transferring to Coffeyville Community College, and he played quarterback at both schools. He has also lined up on the other side of the ball as a linebacker. Derby is a project and will have his work cut out for him to stand out on a roster full of experienced tight ends.
Steal of the Draft: Tre’ Jackson
Jackson was one of three Florida State offensive linemen taken in the draft this year. Obviously, part of Jameis Winston’s success was the pass protection he had up front. The 6’4″, 330 pounder was projected to be off the board as early as the second round. It has to feel pretty good for an organization to get day two talent on the third day of the draft, with this selection by the Pats being a prime example.
Having started in 42 of the 49 games he played in college, Jackson has a great deal of experience and really excelled as a run-blocking guard for the Seminoles. If he can keep his weight under control and work on his conditioning, the potential is there for him to eventually figure into the starting lineup at some point in 2015. He could fill the void left by Dan Connolly, who started ten games at left guard last season and remains unsigned.
Most Likely To Impress in Training Camp: Darryl Roberts
The story of NFL secondary play over the past few years or so is full of late-round picks and even undrafted free agents blossoming into stars before our very eyes. Players such as Richard Sherman and Cary Williams on the Seahawks as well as Byron Maxwell, who formerly played for Seattle but signed with Philadelphia this year, come to mind. The Patriots’ own Malcolm Butler, whose now famous jumped route interception sealed their Super Bowl XLIX win, is another example. I’m not saying Roberts is destined for their level of stardom, but the seventh-round selection has the physical characteristics that many defensive coaches really look for in an NFL caliber corner.
The Rest
Geneo Grissom – Much like the previously discussed Richards, Grissom went a lot earlier than projected. He lined up at both defensive end and outside linebacker at Oklahoma and could do the same in the pros.
Trey Flowers – If Grissom was a reach in the late third round, Flowers was value personified in the early fourth. He displayed great explosiveness at the Combine, registering top marks in both the vertical jump (36.5 inches) and broad jump (121 inches).
Shaq Mason – Incumbent starter Bryan Stork might have some competition this year in Mason who, though a bit undersized, could be just what the Patriots need in a run-blocking lineman.
Joe Cardona – Cardona’s an intriguing prospect as a long snapper, if anything, because he’s a graduate of the Naval Academy and will need to get special dispensation from his five-year mandatory commitment if he wants to play in the NFL right off the bat.
Matthew Wells – Is it a subtle bit of irony that the Pats draft a player named Wells after the report which precipitated the Deflategate punishments was put together by a lawyer of the same last name? The former Mississippi State linebacker should be a solid special teams contributor at the beginning of his career.
Xzavier Dickson – Dixon enjoyed a great deal of success at Alabama and played at linebacker in 3-4 sets but also lined up at defensive end at times when the Tide went 4-3. He was the final selection of the draft for New England.
Bottom Line
This isn’t going to be the sexiest draft class in the league. However, it certainly followed the model Belichick has employed year in and year out. Methodically fill your team needs and orchestrate a few trades, especially on days two and three, as a means of stockpiling picks. That’s been Belichick’s modus operandi for the most part during his lengthy tenure as head coach and general manager. Say what you want about the now two infamous “gates,” but you can’t doubt his ability to build through the draft.
My Grade: 8.5/10
Check out our other draft reviews here.
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