Patriots: Revisiting the Time Bill Belichick Robbed Lions in Kyle Van Noy Trade

One of Bill Belichick’s great trades for the Patriots was acquiring linebacker Kyle Van Noy.

This revisiting series is damn fun, isn’t it? Aside from a handful of instances, we’re largely just looking back on how the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick have dunked on the rest of the NFL when it comes to trading and drafting, both of which are paramount reasons for the franchise’s two-decade dynasty.

And while this one will sting a bit since Kyle Van Noy left for the Miami Dolphins this offseason, Patriots fans certainly remember his three and a half years in New England very fondly.

Back in October of 2016, the Pats sent a sixth-round pick to the Detroit Lions in exchange for Van Noy (and his $446K salary!) as well as a seventh-round pick, which, of course, Belichick later traded in the 2017 draft. It only took the Lions 30 games to give up on the former second-round pick.

Seriously, is there no oversight in the NFL transactions office? Belichick gets away with robbery and then turns these guys into stars.

The Lions used that sixth-round pick on quarterback Brad Kaaya, who is currently out of football, and the Pats packaged that seventh-round pick to move up and select UCLA tackle Conor McDermott, who is now on the Jets. There’s your quick meaningless summary of how the picks were used.

In 51 games with the Patriots, Van Noy racked up 221 tackles, 16.5 sacks, 35 QB hits, 5 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, 9 passes defensed, 2 interceptions, 2 touchdowns, and won two Super Bowls. He played in every postseason game (11) and added 46 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, and 3 passes defensed.

Van Noy smartly leveraged his success in New England to land a four-year, $51 million deal with the Dolphins and former Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who coached the veteran linebacker from 2016-2018. Can’t blame him for that, Pats nation.

When looking back on this, it could very well go down as the greatest trade Belichick ever made given the incredible return on investment for merely swapping a sixth-rounder for a seventh-rounder.