Why owner Robert Kraft’s comments on the draft are right

Owner Robert Kraft has once again stepped out of the shadows and commented on the team’s football operation, politely slamming the team’s four drafts prior to 2021. Kraft made it crystal clear that he was not satisfied with the output from those drafts and his comments were absolutely correct. Those drafts were terrible.

If this looks like a blunt critique of Bill Belichick and his personnel operation, it was indeed. It was also justifiable. This team has been drafting poorly and bizarrely for decades, really. The 2021 great draft was an outlier, plain and simple. That draft delivered three studs in Mac Jones, Christian Barmore, and Rhamondre Stevenson. It may get even better if injured redshirt linebacker from Michigan, Cameron McGrone, comes back healthy. He may be a player.

So let’s take close look at Mr. Kraft’s comments and analyze why they were right on target. The record speaks loudly and for itself and it’s not a great audio soundbite at all for the Patriots’ personnel operation. The facts speak for themselves, as it were.

Robert Kraft’s draft analysis was right on target

Mr. Kraft was quoted in a recent story in the Boston Herald this way,

"I’m happy that we, I think, we had a great draft last year and it made up for what happened the previous four years or so,” Kraft told reporters Tuesday at the league meetings in Palm Beach, Fla."

Whoa. This poignant reminder flies in the face of the popular wisdom that the Patriots — and their football operations department, in particular — can do no wrong. It’s a myth and Mr. Kraft’s uncharacteristically frank and public commentary over the past two offseasons has unequivocally and unquestionably reinforced that actuality.

Frankly, the Patriots’ personnel management for many of the years while they had the greatest of the greats (Tom Brady) at the helm of their offense was lacking in many respects. The most obvious fault was not providing the all-time greatest slinger with top receiving tools to be all that he could be all of the time.

That was a story for another day, but suffice to say, Brady, the greatest safety valve in NFL history, bailed the personnel department out of gaffes in many seasons. One need only look to 2007 to see what the past could have been like if the personnel operation had made it a top priority to bring in first-class receiving talent like Randy Moss every year. Let’s just say six Super Bowl titles could have easily been 12, or a baker’s dozen. That’s enough on that for now.

Regarding the past four drafts, as noted, the 2021 draft was a welcome anomaly. Three top players came aboard. In the prior four years of drafts, however, things weren’t so rosy, as Mr. Kraft specifically noted. Let’s take a good look at what resulted. In the 2017 draft, the team’s top picks — two third-rounders in edge Derek Rivers and offensive tackle Antonio Garcia — both flopped. One site gave the draft a D. No problem at all here with that.

The 2018 draft also underwhelmed. The team had two first-round picks, offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn and running back Sony Michel. They passed up much better players at both picks in that one. Wynn has been injured a lot and has been OK when he has played, but nothing more. Michel was a bit above average and, accordingly, he was dealt in 2021 to the ultimate Super Bowl-winning Rams for an embarrassingly paltry sixth-round pick. Second-round pick cornerback Duke Dawson was a complete flop. That draft’s grade has to be a gift C-. D+ would be reasonable as well.

The Patriots’ 2019 and 2020 draft debacles

Shifting to 2019, there was more of the same. The team’s first-round pick, their only recent attempt at a pedigreed wide receiver selection, was N’Keal Harry. Harry has been a bust and on the trade bubble seemingly forever. Their second-round pick was the same as the first. It was another Patriots’ draft cornerback flop, Joejuan Williams. He has made no impact and, like Harry, is probably only around because it’s too much of an embarrassment to cut so many high picks. Their trade value is zilch. The Patriots should try to get a seventh-round pick for each and run.

The team also had three third-round picks in 2019. One uncharacteristically has turned out well, though he basically didn’t see the field as a rookie. That was Damien Harris, a very fine pick in anyone’s view. The other two third-rounders were not so good. Chase Winovich, a real favorite in this space both before and after the draft, started well in Year 1, leveled off in Year 2, and then fell off a cliff in Year 3.

Winovich was dealt to Cleveland for another linebacker, Mack Wilson, this offseason. In total, he was a huge disappointment. Then there was third-rounder, offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste. He’s been oft-injured and has contributed basically nothing. In the fourth round, Pats Nation was gifted with two more of the same. Guard Hjalte Froholdt never played much and quarterback Jarrett Stidham … well, has done nothing and should also be traded.

The team did hit on one later pick. Punter Jake Bailey has been great. Defensive tackle Byron Cowart has played a bit. On balance, this draft has to be graded a D overall, only salvaged by the Harris and Bailey selections. Yet, when you blow six or seven picks in the first four rounds, you’ve failed.

Patriots 2020 draft at least landed two starters

The Patriots’ 2020 draft was somewhat better. The team hit on its first pick in the second round: safety Kyle Dugger, who is a solid player. Then, the Pats’ brass selected Josh Uche in the second round. Views are mixed on Uche, but he’s basically been a flop. He has only played in 21 games out of 33 during that time and he’s notched only four sacks in two years. The hype is unwarranted.

Now let’s talk about the abominable 2020 third round. All three third-round picks have been complete washouts. Linebacker Anfernee Jennings and two tight ends, Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene, have hardly played at all. Jennings has played in only 14 games in his two seasons with only 20 total tackles and no sacks.

The two tight ends who were supposed to fill in the gap after Rob Gronkowski retired, well, haven’t. Keene has played six games total in his two seasons with five catches. Asiasi has played in 10 games with seven receptions and a touchdown. That’s 12 receptions between two third-round tight ends. “Dismal” is too weak a word for those picks and performances.

The team did hit big on sixth-round guard Michael Onwenu, who started most of his first two seasons. He was misplayed at guard by the coaching staff early in 2021 for several games after Trent Brown went out and it cost the team heavily. Also, Justin Herron has played some, but he’s nowhere near a starting-caliber NFL offensive tackle.

So that’s it. The lay of the draft land for the four seasons prior to the breakout 2021 draft. It’s not a pretty story. If anything, Mr. Kraft overrated those drafts. “Pitiful” isn’t too strong a word for them and 98.5 The Sports Hub radio’s Felger and Mazz might’ve done better with their “throw a tomato at the draft board” style.

And the Patriots’ final grade for the 2017-2020 drafts is …

So, to grade those four drafts in sum, it’s difficult to assign anything better than a D, and that’s a weak D at that. They were routinely terrible and they have contributed significantly to the team’s drop-off since Brady’s departure. As noted, he’s no longer around to pick up the pieces of this team’s routinely atrocious personnel decision-making, especially in past drafts.

So, thank you, Mr. Kraft. Your words last season seemed to light a fire under the football guys. However, it’s worth noting that Dave Ziegler, last season’s Director of Player Personnel, has left for sandier pastures in Las Vegas with Josh McDaniels. That’s not a good omen.

Hopefully, the 2022 draft will be another A+++ one, following a similarly successful 2021 version. The team has numerous needs to fill. But after a lackluster free agency this offseason, please forgive those of us who aren’t optimistic that 2022 will deliver another winning draft.

Yet, as they say, hope springs eternal, especially for Patriots fans and the draft. We’ll have a better inkling later this month.