In Bill I Trust: How the Patriots Won the Draft on Day One
In all of the years I have been an diehard fan of the New England Patriots, I do not recall a single time that I have called exactly what Bill Belichick will do in the first round of the draft, or any round for that matter. However, it is an extreme rarity if anybody does. Bill Belichick's drafts are similar to what the writers did to the ending of the show Lost, he purposely does not do what the pundits expect him to do. This unexpectedness is not unwelcome though, because Bill has blown my mind once again.
The New England Patriots traded back from the 29th pick overall in the first round to attain the Minnesota Vikings' second rounder (52nd overall), third rounder (83rd), fourth rounder (120th), and seventh rounder (229th). The Patriots entered the draft with five draft picks, and now they have eight. Here is what their picks look like thus far:
Second Round (52)
Second Round (59)
Third round (83)
Third round (91)
Fourth round (102)
Seventh round (226)
Seventh round (229)
Seventh round (235)
To demonstrate just how unorthodox gaining three picks is when a team trades back, I will provide some background.
When Bill surprised everyone last year by trading up in the draft TWICE to get Dont'a Hightower and Chandler Jones, he traded with the Denver Broncos to move up from 31st pick overall to 25th overall, and traded with the Cincinnati Bengals to move up 27th overall to 21st overall. In addition to giving up their former picks in the first round, Bill gave the Broncos a late fourth round pick, and he gave the Bengals a late third round pick. Furthermore, the Baltimore Ravens moved back to the early second round from their first round, 29th pick overall last year and only received a fourth rounder.
Bill moved back in a draft that has very little top heavy talent, a draft where mostly non-skill players were taken, and now Bill has four picks in the next two rounds where most believe are above the normal skill of second and third round picks. Therefore, to say that the Patriots had a successful first round would be a gross understatement.
The New England Patriots traded back from the 29th pick overall in the first round to attain the Minnesota Vikings' second rounder (52nd overall), third rounder (83rd), fourth rounder (120th), and seventh rounder (229th). The Patriots entered the draft with five draft picks, and now they have eight. Here is what their picks look like thus far:
Second Round (52)
Second Round (59)
Third round (83)
Third round (91)
Fourth round (102)
Seventh round (226)
Seventh round (229)
Seventh round (235)
To demonstrate just how unorthodox gaining three picks is when a team trades back, I will provide some background.
When Bill surprised everyone last year by trading up in the draft TWICE to get Dont'a Hightower and Chandler Jones, he traded with the Denver Broncos to move up from 31st pick overall to 25th overall, and traded with the Cincinnati Bengals to move up 27th overall to 21st overall. In addition to giving up their former picks in the first round, Bill gave the Broncos a late fourth round pick, and he gave the Bengals a late third round pick. Furthermore, the Baltimore Ravens moved back to the early second round from their first round, 29th pick overall last year and only received a fourth rounder.
Bill moved back in a draft that has very little top heavy talent, a draft where mostly non-skill players were taken, and now Bill has four picks in the next two rounds where most believe are above the normal skill of second and third round picks. Therefore, to say that the Patriots had a successful first round would be a gross understatement.
