Even the most staunch New England Patriots supporters will have a hard time defending Bill Belichick’s draft history.
That’s saying something, too, when you consider his first two draft classes in Foxboro included Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, and Matt Light.
Some of the best players on the Patriots’ current roster have ties to Belichick in Christian Gonzalez (2023), Marcus Jones (2022), and Christian Barmore (2021). But the whiffs, especially in the early rounds, were painful and impossible to ignore over the last several years.
Cole Strange. Mac Jones. Kyle Dugger. N’Keal Harry. Belichick’s Patriots spent some premium draft capital on a bunch of players who are either no longer on the roster or barely still in the league.
Mike Vrabel has, indirectly, fueled the narrative at the expense of his former head coach. He released Strange following training camp, and this week cut ties with both Dugger and Keion White — another prominent Belichick draft pick — in trades with the Steelers and 49ers.
Patriots fans should thank their lucky stars that Gonzalez fell to the Patriots on Day 1 of the 2023 draft, which turned out to be Belichick’s last with the team. Gonzalez has already established himself as one of the premier young cornerbacks in the NFL, and per some tapped-in NFL journalists, Belichick nearly botched the pick, which turned out to be one of his best of the 2020s.
Bill Belichick reportedly preferred Keion White over Christian Gonzalez in Round 1 of his final draft as head coach of the Patriots
The Patriots were hoping White could develop as an edge rusher in Year 3, but that never materialized.
He was passed in training camp by free-agent addition K'Lavon Chaisson and struggled to make an impact once the season started; White failed to record a single QB pressure in four of his five games for the Patriots this year, per Pro Football Focus.
White started four games as a rookie under Belichick, who was reportedly all-in on the versatile and physically gifted Georgia Tech defensive lineman. According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Belichick wanted to use the Patriots' first-round pick on White — and not Gonzalez — during the 2023 draft.
“If it were up to Bill Belichick and Bill Belichick alone, Keion White might have been their first-round pick in 2023, and not Christian Gonzalez,” Breer said on NBC Sports Boston's Arbella Early Edition. “I think if it were up to Bill, it would have been Keion White. He had to be talked out of that one.”
Patriots reporter Phil Perry concurred with Breer’s reporting, revealing that the Patriots would have been happy with either Gonzalez or White in the first round that year. That tracks, as New England initially traded back three spots from pick No. 14 before selecting Gonzalez 17th overall.
The Patriots were able to snag White in the second round, pick No. 46 overall, but Gonzalez was always the superior prospect. His value in Year 2 is undeniable; the Patriots are 5-0 this season since he returned from a preseason hamstring injury in Week 4.
Belichick just can’t catch a break these days. Now even his draft hits are losing their luster.
The real MVP might be whoever it was in the Patriots' front office who stepped in and helped save Belichick from himself.