New England Patriots: 5 players Bill Belichick shouldn’t have drafted
By Max Bozicas
Duke Dawson Jr.
You might have already forgotten that Duke Dawson Jr. exists, but the Patriots traded up from their 63rd pick to take him 56th overall in 2018. That’s right, just two years ago. Dawson played cornerback for the Florida Gators in college.
Dawson did not appear in a single regular season game for the Patriots in 2018 and was promptly traded to the Denver Broncos prior to the start of the 2019 season for a 6th round pick in this year’s draft. Not a great return on investment for a second rounder who was drafted just a year earlier.
If it’s any consolation, he hasn’t exactly been lighting it up as a Bronco. In 14 games for them in 2019, he played just 33% of the team’s defensive snaps and allowed 15 receptions on 20 targets. While his career hasn’t gotten off to the best of starts, Dawson is still on the Broncos roster and may be able to turn it around.
Selecting Dawson won’t turn out to be a complete waste if the Patriots are able to draft a good player with the pick they traded him for. That’s not exactly easy to do with a 6th rounder, but they’ve pulled it off before!
5 notable players drafted after Duke Dawson Jr. (pick 56):
- DJ Chark (Wide receiver, Jacksonville Jaguars, pick 61)
- Justin Reid (Safety, Houston Texans, pick 68)
- Fred Warner (Linebacker, San Fransisco 49ers, pick 70)
- Michael Gallup (Wide receiver, Dallas Cowboys, pick 81)
- Orlando Brown (Offensive tackle, Baltimore Ravens, pick 83)