Over the last five years, and arguably even before that, the Patriots have dealt with far more misses in the draft than home runs, and their roster continues to deal with the consequences. Most of the blame can be placed on Bill Belichick's shoulders, primarily due to his stubbornness and apparent value of how well a player does in an interview, and it has led to several busts coming to the Patriots, while superstars go to teams that didn't pass on them.
The most infamous in recent memory is N'Keal Harry, whom the legendary head coach chose to take in the first round of the 2019 draft rather than A.J. Brown or Deebo Samuel. Even more recent is his questionable choice of Cole Strange in Round 1, despite the player being widely considered a fourth-round prospect.
Neither player is on the team anymore, and now the same can be said about some questionable players that the Jerod Mayo regime selected in the 2024 Draft, as wide receiver and second-round pick Ja'Lynn Polk was traded to the Saints last week.
It was another brutal reminder of what the Patriots did in order to acquire Polk, who now joins fourth-rounder Javon Baker on another team this season. Making it even worse is seeing who the Chargers picked with the picks they received in the trade, especially since cornerback Tarheeb Still is now making a name for himself, too.
The #Patriots traded back and gave the Chargers Ladd McConkey and Tarheeb Still for free…. pic.twitter.com/s89aGgAuju
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) September 13, 2025
The Patriots continue to be haunted by the bad draft decisions of Jerod Mayo's regime
As if seeing the thriving young career of wide receiver Ladd McConkey wasn't bad enough, the Patriots are now haunted by the thriving start of Still, who is already making even more of a name for himself this season.
His skills were on full display during Monday Night Football this week, as he nearly led the Chargers in combined tackles by recording nine, along with one for a loss and two passes defended. Considering how poor the tackling has been for the Patriots in particular, it's brutal to see just how good Still has been in that area.
Making matters even worse is how much their cornerbacks have been struggling in Christian Gonzalez's absence. Although Carlton Davis III has been solid since making his New England debut in Week 1, those filling in for Gonzalez have been less than stellar, so knowing that they could have had Still instead and have no concerns about the cornerback room is frustrating, to put it lightly.
Luckily, Gonzalez returned to practice on Wednesday and has a chance to suit up for this week's game against the Steelers, but that still doesn't negate how good their cornerback room could have been with another young superstar in the making in Still.
Imagine the duo of Gonzalez and Still for the next decade in Foxboro. The fact that we won't be able to see that is nearly sickening. Fortunately, the Patriots do have Gonzalez, but it'll be hard to stop the "what if?" about Still now that both Baker and Polk are already off the team.