New England Patriots: Revisiting and Grading the 2009 NFL Draft

Oct 7, 2012; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots tackle Sebastian Vollmer (76) during the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Broncos 31-21. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

The Patriots have had a lot of criticism heaped on them for the 2009 NFL Draft. Most of it was deserved as the team traded down twice in the first round and made a big mistake in passing up linebacker Clay Matthews. Other teams had bad drafts as well, as Oakland blew the #7 overall pick on Darrius Heyward-Bey, St. Louis picked up tackle Jason Smith at #2 overall, and the Jets did not get the Pro Bowl quarterback they expected after trading up to #5 overall for Mark Sanchez. Buffalo flubbed with linebacker/defensive end Aaron Maybin at #11 over Brian Orakpo. San Diego wiffed on #16 overall pick linebacker Larry English and #17 overall pick Josh Freeman was a disaster in the end of his time in Tampa Bay.

That said, New England got two very good contributors in 2nd round pick tackle Sebastian Vollmer and 7th round pick wide receiver Julian Edelman. Other 2nd round picks safety Patrick Chung was solid, but not great; Defensive tackle Ron Brace was a bust; and cornerback Darius Butler showed promise but fizzled out in New England. After twice trading down, those four 2nd round draft picks were supposed to be the building blocks for the future. Fortunately, New England had another chance to build through the draft in 2010.

OVERALL GRADE: C-