The New England Patriots dynasty has been buoyed by many incredible players they’ve taken in the NFL draft. However, they’ve drafted some serious busts too.
Like most teams, the New England Patriots are pretty hit-or-miss when it comes to the NFL draft. For every Tom Brady, Vince Wilfork, Julian Edelman, and Rob Gronkowski, there are plenty of players they’ve selected under Bill Belichick that turned out to be underwhelming.
Patriots fans and local media express their frustrations with the team’s draft history on a regular basis. While it’s fair to be annoyed about certain picks, it cannot be emphasized enough just how much of a crapshoot the NFL draft is. There is rarely ever a prospect who can be unanimously regarded as a “sure thing.”
Every single team makes regrettable mistakes on draft day and get blasted by their respective followers. The Patriots are not as special in this regard as you may have been lead to believe. However, if you are one of those fans who constantly thinks about the times where the Patriots could have drafted a stud but ended up picking a dud, this is the post for you.
Here are five players the New England Patriots drafted that turned out to be busts. Continue on if you dare.
Cyrus Jones
If you like watching muffed punts, Cyrus Jones has to be one of your favorite players. The Patriots selected Jones with the 60th overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft.
In college, Jones played cornerback for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Jones would become a kick/punt returner for the Patriots and was as bad at it as I have ever seen a human being be bad at anything.
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Jones was credited with five fumbles in 19 total return attempts that year and didn’t even get a chance to redeem himself in 2017 due to a torn ACL. He was waived by the Patriots on September 1st, 2018 and the Baltimore Ravens added him to their practice squad.
Just 16 days later the Patriots would sign Jones back, only to waive him again on October 6th. The Ravens then added Jones to their active roster and he ended up returning a punt for a touchdown in week 12 that same year.
After essentially being a ping-pong ball for the Patriots and Ravens, Jones would ultimately stay with the Ravens until November of 2019. He once again was released by Baltimore and was picked up by the Denver Broncos, who added him to their reserve/non-football injury list soon after.
Currently, a free agent, Jones has likely seen his best chance at a successful NFL career pass him by already.
5 notable players drafted after Cyrus Jones (pick 60):
- James Bradberry (Cornerback, Carolina Panthers, pick 62)
- Kevin Byard (Safety, Tennessee Titans, pick 64)
- Yannick Ngakoue (Edge rusher, Jacksonville Jaguars, pick 69)
- Kenyan Drake (Running back, Miami Dolphins, pick 73)
- Austin Hooper (Tight end, Atlanta Falcons, pick 81)
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)
Chad Jackson
Another former Florida Gator, wide receiver Chad Jackson was taken by the Patriots in the 2nd round with the 36th overall pick in 2006.
Jackson would appear in 12 games his rookie year, catching 13 passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns. Not exactly a spectacular start but there was still some hope for Jackson.
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Following that season, Jackson was merely an afterthought. He would only play two more games in New England before being released.
He signed with the Broncos in 2008 but only played four games with them. After that, he would appear on a few practice squads but never in another game in the NFL.
Bill Belichick had the right idea at the time when picking Jackson. The Patriots needed weapons on offense, but Jackson just wasn’t a difference maker. It was ultimately part of the reason why they traded for Randy Moss and added Wes Welker just a season later.
5 notable players drafted after Chad Jackson (pick 36):
- Roman Harper (Safety, New Orleans Saints, pick 43)
- Greg Jennings (Wide receiver, Green Bay Packers, pick 52)
- Andrew Whitworth (Offensive tackle, Cincinnati Bengals, pick 55)
- Devin Hester (Kick/punt returner, Chicago Bears, pick 57)
- Maurice Jones-Drew (Runningback, Jacksonville Jaguars, pick 60)
Ras-I Dowling
A cornerback from Virginia, Ras-I Dowling appeared in just 12 games in his NFL career after being drafted by the Patriots in 2011. The team traded special teamer Armanti Edwards and pick 89 to the Carolina Panthers for the pick they used to select Dowling.
The New England Patriots released Dowling before the start of the 2013 season and that was basically the end of his NFL career.
He would join the Raiders in 2014, but that stint would be short lived as well, and he would never see an NFL field again after that. Dowling bounced around a few practice squads but has not been in contact with any teams since 2016.
Noticing a pattern here? Please stop taking defensive backs in the second round, Bill. We are begging you. There are three of them on this list alone. Thankfully New England has done a much better job picking cornerbacks as of late.
5 notable players drafted after Ras-I Dowling (pick 33):
- Jamaal Sheard (Defensive lineman, Cleveland Browns, pick 37)
- Rodney Hudson (Center, Kansas City Chiefs, pick 55)
- Torrey Smith (Wide receiver, Baltimore Ravens, pick 58)
- Justin Houston (Edge rusher, Kansas City Chiefs, pick 70)
- Jurrell Casey (Defensive lineman, Tennessee Titans, pick 77)
Dominique Easley
The third Florida Gator on this list (maybe avoid taking players from that school from now on) is Dominique Easley. In the interest of fairness, Easley’s struggles in the NFL were not completely on him. He simply did not have the durability to be able to maintain a career in the league.
Easley was a first round pick who played for the Patriots in the 2014 and 2015 seasons but was never able to be on the field consistently, only playing 11 games in each of those years. The Patriots would release him in 2016 due to the fact that his production was not worth the injury risk.
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Easley would then sign with the Los Angeles Rams, who actually got 16 games out of him in the 2016 season, though he played less than half of the defensive snaps for the entire year.
Easley would yet again suffer an injury in 2017 that cost him the entire season, and only played in three games with the Rams in 2018 before getting hurt once more and being placed on injured reserve.
Easley has been a free agent since the end of the 2018 season and likely has played his last NFL snap due to his unfortunate lack of ability to stay healthy.
5 notable players drafted after Dominique Easley (pick 29):
- DeMarcus Lawrence (Edge rusher, Dallas Cowboys, pick 34)
- Joel Bitonio (Guard, Cleveland Browns, pick 35)
- Lamarcus Joyner (Safety, Los Angeles Rams, pick 41)
- Davante Adams (Wide receiver, Green Bay Packers, pick 51)
- Jarvis Landry (Wide receiver, Miami Dolphins, pick 63)