New England Patriots: What is the team’s 2019 NFL Draft strategy?
By Hal Bent
What is Bill Belichick’s draft strategy?
What Bill Belichick is going to do depends more on what the teams ahead of him end up doing. It also depends on what positional groups have the most or the least talent in the first-round/second-round range. For Belichick, if the talent available does not warrant the cost of a first-round selection, he will trade down in a heartbeat. Conversely, if a talented player drops or he perceives a strong area of need, he will move up accordingly.
The most recent example of Belichick moving aggressively up the draft board in the first round came in 2012. Seizing the opportunity to cement the future core of a championship defense, the Patriots jumped over the New York Jets to steal Chandler Jones – and then moved up again to draft Dont’a Hightower.
Jones was later traded at the end of his rookie contract, but the Patriots paid big money to keep Hightower, and he has proved his worth by making game-changing defensive plays in all three recent Super Bowl wins.
The strategy also changes based on the structure of the draft.
The 2012 NFL Draft had impact players in the 20s range, so he moved up. In 2013, the draft had a deep middle class, so the Patriots traded down and received a boatload of picks for their own first-round draft pick from the Minnesota Vikings. That deal was effectively the Patriots trading Cordarrelle Patterson for Jamie Collins, Logan Ryan, Josh Boyce and LeGarrette Blount.
In 2014, the Patriots had an injury-risk top-15 talent in Dominique Easley fall to them. They rolled the dice, but unfortunately lost that gamble. In 2015, a top-20 talent inexplicably dropped to them at No. 32 overall, and they did not hesitate in snagging Malcom Brown.
The Patriots’ strategy can also include jumping up and down the board in the same draft. In 2011, they sat at No. 17 overall when they selected Nate Solder but traded out of the 28th overall selection. In 2010, they moved down twice in the first round and still got their man, Devin McCourty. They then aggressively moved up in the second round to grab Rob Gronkowski.
Whether it is staying put (Logan Mankins at No. 32 overall in 2005), having a top-ten talent fall in your lap (Vince Wilfork at No. 21 overall in 2004), or moving up one spot to get a player who was a perfect fit on the defense (Ty Warren at No. 13 overall in 2003), the Patriots are going to analyze the draft trends quickly and make whatever is the best move to maximize the talent on the roster that season… and long-term.