New England Patriots: Naming the Biggest NFL Draft “What If”
By Nick Ziegler
NFL Nation reporters recently named the biggest “what if” in the history of the NFL Draft for all 32 teams. What was the biggest “what if” for the New England Patriots?
The New England Patriots have historically been a good team at judging talent in the NFL Draft. It has been well-documented that the Patriots had arguably the greatest steal in NFL Draft history with Tom Brady.
Just because the Patriots have had success in the draft, doesn’t mean that they have been perfect. Mike Reiss of ESPN.com recently said that the biggest “what if” in franchise history happened in the 1985 Draft. That year, the Patriots and San Francisco 49ers ended up making a deal that dramatically changed the history of the NFL.
"What if the Patriots had drafted Jerry Rice in 1985?The Patriots traded the 16th pick in the draft to San Francisco, along with a third-round selection, in exchange for picks in the first (28th), second (56th) and third (84th) rounds. The 49ers selected Rice with the 16th overall pick. Perhaps Rice never would have had the same Pro Football Hall of Fame career, or maybe he would have starred in New England and the team’s current run of success would have started even sooner. That’s a fun one to consider, right there with what life would be like for the Patriots if they didn’t turn in their 2000 draft card with Tom Brady’s name on it in the sixth round (199th overall). — Mike Reiss"
What a wild turn of events it would have been if the Patriots selected Rice in the first round that season. The Patriots were a pretty good team in the mid-1980s, and the selection of Rice might have been enough to help them win a Super Bowl then.
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Rice went on to become one of the best wide receivers of all-time in San Francisco, and he helped them win multiple championships. Due to the success of the Patriots in the Brady-Belichick era, missing out on Rice doesn’t sting too much. However, one has to wonder what the Patriots would have looked like if Rice had been drafted by them.