Well, that was a pretty crazy draft. It started with pre-draft trades involving the first and second picks, and continued throughout the draft culminating in a trade that involved Mr. Irrelevant, the final pick in the draft.
This was an entertaining draft not only for the league as a whole, but for the Patriots in particular. With the Patriots first four picks it was starting to look bleak, but in the end Bill Belichick’s genius keeps New England successful. We are going to break down the three trades that the Patriots were involved in, and the draft picks leading up to those trades. What they got and what they gave up. Without further ado, let’s get into it.
The Originally Slotted Picks
When draft started on the 28th, the Patriots had 11 selections in this year’s NFL draft and they were as follows:
Second round 29th pick (60th overall) and 30th pick (61st)
Third round 28th (91st) and 33rd (96th, compensatory)
Sixth round 21st (196), and 204th (29th) were normal picks. Also in the sixth, the Patriots had 208th (33rd), 214th (39th), and 221st (46th) which were all compensatory picks
Seventh round 22nd (243rd), and 29th (250th)
When the Patriots were put on the clock for 29th pick in the second round, things were going relatively normally for the Patriots and the rest of the NFL as a whole. With that pick, the Patriots selected Cyrus Jones. An undersized corner out of a powerhouse football factory (Alabama) who was a questionable selection in the second round. Digging deeper, his speed is average for his position, but his ability in press man coverage is above average. One thing to be noted about his speed is that he plays faster then the 4.55 that he clocked in with at the NFL Draft Combine. After watching some of his tape over his two years as a starter, he has been beaten but simultaneously has good memory and short memory. He has a good memory because doesn’t seem to beaten twice with the same route and has short memory because he doesn’t let the fact that he got beat affect the rest of the game. His 2015 Cotton Bowl tape against Michigan State was very telling about his ability in coverage and his memory. His closing speed when the ball is in the air is also exceptional. Jones’ ball skills are exceptional and he is very skilled in the return game with four punt return touchdowns last year. What Cyrus Jones lacks in size, he more than makes up for in speed, general coverage ability, and ball skills. Taking everything into consideration, this sounds like a Belichick pick. It is also to be noted that when he entered college at Alabama, he was a wide receiver. This fact might have contributed to his exemplary ball skills.
After taking Jones things started to get weird and somewhat frustrating for Patriots fans. Immediately upon turning in the 60th overall pick, the Patriots were on the clock again as owners the 61st overall pick. That is until they proceeded to trade the pick to New Orleans for the 78th overall pick (15th pick in the third round) and the 112th overall pick (14th pick in the fourth round). A good portion of Patriots fans were shocked by this move. A few, I’m sure, were down right angry. People always participate in and create mock drafts because it is fun and fills the time between the end of the NFL season and the draft. Deep down, most fans are just designing the plan that they want their favorite team to execute. Unfortunately for those Patriots fans, their mocks’ NEVER come to fruition.
In the third round, the Patriots stood pat at the 78th pick and selected Joe Thuney, an offensive lineman out of North Carolina State. If a Pats fan was mad in the second round, that person was fuming after this pick was announced. Joe Thuney, by most pre-draft analysts’ opinions, is a fifth round or later type of pick. Digging a little deeper, it turns out Thuney graduated a full year and a half early with a major in international studies and a minor in Spanish. He also scored a 39 on the Wonderlic and spent time playing tackle and guard in college. When you put all together, it sounds like a prototypical Belichick pick. Whether or not he graded out to be a “good player” or not is consequential. What matters to Belichick is that Thuney will be able to accomplish the assignments that he and Offensive Line coach Dante Scarnecchia ask him to accomplish. There is really no reason to think that Joe Thuney will be a stalwart in the Patriots offensive line rotation other than these are the same things that people said about Stephen Neal, who had never played a down of football before signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2001. Thuney actually bares striking resemblance to Dan Connolly, offensive guard for the Patriots from 2007 through 2014. They are similar in size, Thuney being one inch taller at 6 foot 5 inches and on pound lighter at 304 pounds; but they also similar build and similar documented skills having played at both tackle and guard. Time will tell whether or not this is a good pick but one thing is for sure; he will be put in the best position to succeed in New England
Later in the third round, with the 91st overall pick, the Patriots drafted Jacoby Brissett. This young man was the quarterback teammate of Joe Thuney at NC State. Brissett is a raw, scrambling quarterback with a boat load of questions and whose presence on the Patriots roster can only be explained by the suspension of Patriots starting quarterback Tom Brady.
With their final pick in the third round, 96th overall, the Patriots selected Vincent Valentine, a defensive tackle from Nebraska. Valentine is a mammoth man standing at 6 foot 4 inches and weighing in at 329 pounds, and is mostly known for stopping the run. He has little pass rushing ability, is described as slow, over-weight, and worse, is said to play when he wants. This draft was starting to be eerily reminiscent of the 2007 draft class, who by week 1 of the 2007 season, saw only one of its nine members on the week one active roster. At this point Pats fans were skeptical, at best. At worst, they were on the floor seizing. The caveat to be noted about Vincent Valentine is that he only recorded 17 reps at 225 pounds at the Combine but is reported to squat 745 pounds, according to multiple sources.
Luckily there was about 12 hours between the end of the third round and the beginning of the fourth round. It gave people a chance to recharge somewhat and certainly gave them a chance to calm down, take a deep breath, and remember who their coach is.
The Turning Point
The wait in the fourth round would be much shorter than normal for Patriots fans, who are not used to having the 14th pick of any round. With 14th pick in fourth round of the NFL draft, the New England Patriots selected Malcolm Mitchell out of Georgia. When this pick was announced, you could almost hear Patriots nation sigh in relief. Malcolm Mitchell is not a huge receiver, but he is a legitimate receiver from a tough conference. The SEC is the best conference in country and possibly the hardest hitting conference in the country, so he can definitely absorb the hit after making the catch without getting alligator arms. He is not perfect by any means, but he fast having timed a 4.45 40 yard dash at this years NFL Combine. After looking at various games in his college career, he is the guy that is over powering either on the field or statistically but he is a very skilled route runner. Mitchell also excels at catching the ball across the middle of the field, something that is very coveted in New England’s system. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has been successful working with wide receiver that specialize in running routes across the middle such as Troy Brown, Wes Welker, and Julian Edleman. The wait between Patriots picks would now be well worth it. The Patriots finally drafted a player who could prove to be an impact player THIS YEAR.
But wait…. what is this….. The Patriots just did what? That’s right, the Patriots traded up and snagged the 8th pick in the 5th round (147th overall). The excitement was immediate, but no one really knew who the Patriots were trading up for or what they gave up. At the moment when the Patriots traded for the pick, they were not immediately on the clock so the question then became “what did they give to the Dolphins in order to move up almost 50 spots?” The answer was both of the 6th rounders that they were able to trade (196th and 204th picks) and the latter of their two 7th rounders (250th overall). Well that was a lot of picks, but in order to gain a pick in the fifth round, something they did not previously have, it was necessary. Patriots fans barely had the opportunity to catch their breath or wrap their minds around the trade that had just occurred when the Patriots’ third and final trade was announced less then 20 minutes later.
The Patriots traded the 147th pick and the 243rd pick (the teams final 7th rounder) to the Seahawks for the 4th pick in the 7th round (225th overall), and the Seahawks 4th rounder in 2017. That’s right, all of what just occurred was just laying the groundwork to recoup the 4th rounder that was taken from the Patriots during the deflate-gate fiasco. During free agency Bill Belichick’s prime directive was to make the Patriots lack of a first round picks as harmless as possible. He lessened the blow even further with the trade of Chandler Jones to the Cardinals for their 2nd rounder (61st overall) and Jonathon Cooper. This final trade was the icing on the cake. It was the assurance that the Patriots future would be safe.
After this trade, it was abundantly clear that Belichick had most certainly been planning this since the commissioner took the Patriots draft picks in May of 2015. This wasn’t just about picking quality players that can make an immediate impact on the Patriots team this year, this was about Belichick securing the Patriots long-term future.
Recap
In the last two months we have seen Bill Belichick make a series of moves involving draft picks that were all designed to take the sting out of the leagues punishment handed down in May 2015. It started with the trade of Chandler Jones to the Cardinals for the 61st overall pick and Jonathon Cooper. What that did is ease the pain of losing the first round draft pick (by adding an additional 2nd rounder) and adding a young (yet unproven) talent that could add depth to the Patriots offensive line, something that many analysts insisted the Patriots do during the off-season. Belichick took that 61st pick and traded for the 78th pick (Joe Thuney) and 112th pick (Malcolm Mitchell). Thuney, though considered a reach (rated a 3rd or 4th rounder) will add more depth and competition to the offensive line, and Mitchell just may be the extra target that keeps the Patriots relevant offensively while Tom Brady misses the first four games. The third trade involved off-loading some draft picks that would have taken up cap space or not even made the team but the fourth trade was the icing on the cake. The Patriots trade the 147th pick and 243rd pick for the 225th pick and a 4th rounder next year. This trade was not only designed to provide an early shot at the 7th round of the draft, but it was also executed to provide the Patriots with a replacement for the other pick that was taken from the Patriots. It is to be noted that which ever pick is higher in the 4th round, whether it be the Seahawks pick or the Patriots pick, that is the one the league will repossess. That fact seems inconsequential now because, one way or another they are going to have a choice to pick in the 4th round of next years NFL draft.
The Verdict
These trades are going to be overlooked by major media in most regions of the country as it was “just Belichick making trades”, but it is clear that is not the case. This was yet another calculated display of how Belichick bends the draft board at will, doing exactly what he wants it to do. Lets be honest, Belichick is downright unlikable, abrasive, and evasive. Even the most avid Patriots supporter has to admit that. His actions leave people rooting for he and his team to fail. Honest Patriots fans will admit to you that they had no idea what to expect with this old school coach from the Bill Parcells tree, that didn’t seem to like talking to anyone. Patriots Nation was skeptical that he was going to work out after starting his Patriots tenure with a 5-11 season and then having his newly minted $100 million franchise quarterback broken in half, in front of their eyes. Even the most loyal fans were questioning whether he was going to last as the Patriots coach. As time went on, rosters turned over, and the Patriots seemed to remain elite. Players came and went, coaches came, and went and yet the Patriots remained dominant.
The bottom line to all of this is that whether you are having trouble keeping up or if you are so blinded by justified hatred, Belichick is still a genius. This much is undeniable. Just when people are ready to write the Patriots’ obituary, Belichick pulls another rabbit out of his seemingly bottomless hat. Whether you love the Patriots or you absolutely loathe the Patriots, you have to recognize that it is Bill Belichick’s genius that keeps the Patriots successful and will do so for years to come.
Main Photo: FOXBORO, MA – DECEMBER 06: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots looks on during the game between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium on December 6, 2015 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
