3 recent first-round draft picks Bill Belichick definitely wish he could do over

The Patriots haven’t really drafted well since 2014, and they certainly would be in a different position if they could re-do these picks.

Since 2014, the New England Patriots have largely struck out with their early draft picks. Bill Belichick is very good at finding productive NFL players in the mid-to-late rounds, but the same cannot be said for the first 64 selections.

Why? Well, the Patriots are typically making selections in the 28-32 and the 60-64 range, so it’s not like they have their pick of the litter. Then again, they’ve done almost as bad of a job as you could possibly imagine in selecting talent late in the first and second rounds, and now we’re seeing it come back to bite them in 2020.

Yes, the Pats had eight players opt out due to the pandemic and have had injury troubles on top of that. Nobody asking for the third-stringers to seamlessly transition and start making an impact. However, the issue has been with these higher picks coupled with the lack of longevity from others because they weren’t able to last in New England.

If Bill Belichick could do these three draft picks over, this would be a completely different (and even more dominant) Patriots team.

3. 2019 NFL Draft – WR N’Keal Harry (No. 32 overall)

N’Keal Harry has had injury troubles and has been downright bad for the Patriots.

We hate being Captain Hindsight, but it’s not like the N’Keal Harry selection in 2019 was met with rave reviews. There were constant questions surrounding the pick, especially since Deebo Samuel, A.J. Brown and DK Metcalf were still available. Some might argue it was “too early” to take those guys, but how was it not too early to take Harry?

And sure, we could argue Harry hasn’t exactly gotten a fair shake in New England. He played in only seven games his rookie season due to injuries and never got on the same page with Tom Brady. In his sophomore season, he was already given a new quarterback in Cam Newton, and aside from one good game against the Seahawks, Harry’s shown Patriots fans nothing … and he missed Sunday’s game with another injury.

In 13 career games, the former Arizona State star has 31 receptions for 277 yards and three touchdowns. We’re pretty sure DK Metcalf exceeded those totals this past Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

Other wideouts who went after Harry? Mecole Hardman, Diontae Johnson, Terry McLaurin, Darius Slayton, Travis Fulgham … OK we’ll stop now.