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

2. 2015 NFL Draft – DT Malcom Brown (No. 32 overall)

Malcom Brown didn’t exactly pan out with the Patriots.

Another last-pick-of-the-first-round-selection, defensive tackle Malcom Brown spent four years with the Patriots and recorded 186 tackles (14 for loss), 16 QB hits and 8.5 sacks in 60 games. Then New England declined his fifth-year option and he signed a three-year deal with the New Orleans Saints, with whom he’s currently playing.

Whenever you decline a fifth-year option on a first-round pick, you’re pretty much waving the white flag and admitting it’s not a fit. And that’s a shame here because if the Patriots needed a defensive lineman, there were plenty that went after Brown who have had much better careers.

Preston Smith went to the Washington Football Team six picks later. Eddie Goldman went to the Chicago Bears seven picks later. Frank Clark went No. 63 overall to the Seattle Seahawks. Danielle Hunter went No. 88 to the Minnesota Vikings. The Patriots did cash in on Trey Flowers with the second pick of the fourth round, but they let him go in free agency, so does it even matter? We guess, it got them two Super Bowls.

But a wasted first-round pick is especially bad because you lose an extra year of control on that player with the fifth-year option.

This was by no means a sexy draft, but to make matters even worse, the Patriots drafted Brown knowing he had played only 13 career college games (with ONE sack!) across three seasons. Why was this the pick?