New England Patriots 2020 Draft: Grading another disappointing draft

Why the New England Patriots draft was another disappointing one for Bill Belichick.

I tried to remain optimistic as I do every year. I reflected upon Thursday’s trade down and felt it actually was a good move for once. I hoped against hope that the New England Patriots would for once conduct a draft that would make its fans feel good about it. But alas it wasn’t meant to be.

They did it again, what they usually do and blew the draft in several ways. And once again it was a trade-happy draft.

Trade, Trade. Trade. For what?

First, and the most serious demerit in this draft, they didn’t draft a quarterback. This was a defining moment for the team. They needed a quarterback to try to replace some of what he greatest ever had provided for nearly 20 years. They failed to even address the position thus far.

Forget not drafting a Jalen Hurts, a read-pass-option quarterback (as I had foolishly hoped), they failed to even attempt to replace their all-time great quarterback with any bonafide star quarterback who might help define the future of the team.

The right choice was there at the 37th pick of the draft in Jalen Hurts.

Ironically, Hurts was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with pick No. 53, and the Eagles already have a top-flight quarterback. New England doesn’t. And now likely won’t barring an unforeseen signing of Cam Newton or trade for Jameis Winston.

For nearly two decades the New England Patriots poor drafting and personnel moves generally have been bailed out by one Tom Brady. The ultimate safety net. The ultimate winner who made up for all their fumbling and bumbling in the draft by sheer talent, determination and will. Now he’s gone and so is the great New England Patriots dynasty.

No quarterback in the first three rounds. So New England now will go into the 2020 season with a quarterback who has thrown the sum total of 4 passes in the NFL and a career backup as their options, barring an unforeseen signing or trade for a legitimate NFL quarterback. The last time I looked, it was clear that without a good if not great quarterback, you can’t win.

That alone would consign this draft into the dustbin, but there’s more. None of the players they drafted, most of whom were reaches or very big reaches are difference-makers. A player who can win a game for you by themselves. Offensive skill players. And that is the most glaring deficiency of this draft.

The New England Patriots blew it by going defense on their top picks

The  New England Patriots after a nice trade down in the first round had my expectations high. It was delusional on my part. With their first pick that 37th pick in the draft in the second round, they chose … a defensive back. A safety from Lenoir-Rhyne College. (Note: their stadium seat about 7,500 fans, smaller than many high schools, I’m sure.)

Kyle Dugger is his name.

Dugger is an athletically gifted small college player who really may have has some potential and upside. So what’s wrong with that? For one thing, he’s a defensive back which is not a pressing need on the 2020 version of the New England Patriots. And, in addition, he’s a defensive back in the second round.

Dugger actually may prove to be pretty good. But again, that’s not the point here. The Patriots did not have a pressing need at safety, the age of some and the loss of Duron Harmon notwithstanding. It just wasn’t a pressing need that had to be addressed with your first pick in the entire draft.

Dugger won’t start either. The Patriots prioritized this pick on whatever basis they make picks (I have not idea, probably the “we’re smarter than you are” philosophy.). Clearly here, it was not based on a major team need.

An article outlines just how poorly the Patriots track record under Bill Belichick has been drafting defensive backs in the second round. Their second-round defensive back choices have generally been atrocious. Eugene Wilson, Duke Dawson, Terrence Wheatley, Darius Butler and Jordan Richards. Sound familiar? Hope Dugger isn’t another one of those.

So, your highest pick the one which could have netted Jalen Hurts or another top offensive skill player is used on a player who won’t start and plays a position that is not one of critical need. And, again, he won’t start for New England either. The point is, they had other more pressing needs that were ignored completely in their first 5 picks. On offense! They blew the opportunity to fill them right then and there. Maybe a decent player, but a lousy pick.

In their second-round pick secured by yet another trade, they selected a decent linebacker, Josh Uche from Michigan. Uche is an outside linebacker, OK, but he’s undersized and while he’s been compared to Tedy Bruschi by some, I’ll believe that when I see it. He may be a pretty good player.

But, again, while the Patriots lost linebackers and edge players to free agency, this was NOT a position that had to be addressed so early in the draft. The middle rounds and later should have been the places. Not a second-round pick for which you had to again trade up and waste valuable draft capital in the process.

This was neither a cost-effective nor a well-placed pick. Whether or not Uche is a pretty good player is not the point here. Uche likely won’t start and he certainly won’t help their offense be better.

Then in the third round, the Patriots selected yet another linebacker/edge, Anfernee Jennings from Alabama. Third round. Decent player. I had suggested him myself as a possibility. But not in the third round.

It was another reach by the New England Patriots. And again, Jennings may be a pretty good player but he is unlikely to start for New England, and he’s not an offensive player.

So there you have the Patriots top three picks, none of which address their most glaring need, their terrible offense. And none of the three players selected are difference-makers who can win a game for you by themselves. Won’t happen. At least it’s not likely.

Finally, the New England Patriots draft two offensive players at one position of need

Why offense? The New England  Patriots offense in 2019 could not get the job done, even with the greatest quarterback in NFL history leading the way.

Frankly, their offense stunk last season. No tight ends. Only one NFL quality receiver in Julian Edelman on the team and their running backs absent James White were mediocre at best.

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And no big back to deliver the first down or touchdown in short-yardage when they really needed it. This and their really poor 2019 draft cost them their season. Then yesterday, they passed on offense in their top 3 premium picks. They had the chance to really improve the offense with players like Hurts and Cole Kmet. But they passed. In my opinion, they blew it. Big time.

Finally, after another trade up, New England drafted two offensive players. Two tight ends. But not very highly rated ones.

One is Devin Asiasi from UCLA. He can catch pretty well but he’s undersized and not known for his blocking. After passing on Cole Kmet, the best all-around tight end in the class in the second round, Asiasi is not a great consolation prize. But at least he’s on the offensive side of the ball.

The second tight end in the third round was another reach, this time a big reach. Dalton Keene of Virginia Tech. Keene has some good traits. NFL.com notes,

"Swiss Army Knife versatility performing in-line, as a wingback, from the slot, as a fullback, and even as a personal protector in pass protection."

That sounds decent and might have worked well with a quarterback like Hurts.

But again New England as they often do reached way too high for Keene in the third round. And they won’t have Jalen Hurts on their roster to improvise anyway. They have two mediocre quarterbacks and that’s not going to get it done in 2020.

Summary of Day 2 of the New England Patriots 2020 Draft

So that’s the essential story of the 2020 New England Patriots draft. They passed on the best quarterback to begin a new era of success in Patriots football. They used their three top picks on defense. Big mistakes right there.

They then finally turned to the offense in the third round and chose two tight ends. Definitely a position of need. But they passed on better options both earlier in the draft like Cole Kmet of Notre Dame, the best tight end in the entire draft and later Harrison Bryant of Florida Atlantic who was still on the board.

Coincidentally, they have also failed to add top players in the other offensive skill positions to provide some help to their only good offensive players who are really good, Julian Edelman and James White. But they can’t carry this offense alone, especially now that Tom Brady has left the building.

In addition, their running backs are mediocre. None of them stand out (except James White as a receiver) and none of them can get a yard or two on their own in short-yardage situations. They need a big back and passed on several who could have added that key dimension in short-yardage that they needed last season and will again in 2020.

And they have not addressed at all the most important part of the entire offense and team for that matter other than the quarterback, their offensive line. This line in 2019 due to injury, poor drafting and poor in-season trades for replacements was, well, offensive.

The Patriots have not drafted well for years. Even in the mid-2000s when they had great teams, they drafted poorly. Check out the 2005-2008 drafts to see what I mean. It has cost them dearly. In Super Bowl wins.

The inimitable Tom Curran of nbcsports.com wrote that he felt the Patriots should have won 11 Super Bowls under Brady. That’s Super Bowl wins. Tom is right. I have always maintained that the Patriots could have, should have won double-digit Super Bowls during the Tom Brady era. In that case, I’ll say they should have won maybe 12 or so with better drafting and personnel decision making generally.

Grade for the 2020 New England Patriots draft

Throughout all those years and all those bad drafts and other personnel moves, there was one constant for the New England Patriots. One great equalizer. A player so singularly talented that he put the entire team on his back and on his own willed the team to unprecedented success.

In the process, he turned ordinary or mediocre players into stars, who often then left to cash in on his brilliance. Of course, that was Tom Brady.

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Because of bad decision making by the team’s ownership, which essentially abdicated its authority to the Head Coach, they lost this most prized asset to Tampa Bay after 20 years of loyal, sustained, and unequaled success.

Tom Brady was the ultimate fall-back position. The singular most capable individual player ever who could elevate teams to greatness or near greatness simply by being there at the helm of the offense.

The New England Patriots kicked him to the curb, this ultimate safety valve who time and time again provided a means of escape, deliverance, and extrication from the personnel ineptitude and poor drafting during most of those years. Now, that ultimate safety net is gone. He will no longer cover up the glaring flaws in drafting and personnel recruitment by the New England Patriots that were so obvious to so many for so long.

Bill Belichick and his draft team had an opportunity to break the mold this offseason and replace their legendary quarterback now lost to free agency with a new dynamic offense. That was the chance. The opportunity. The hope. They passed.

The Patriots will now rely on a journeyman and basically a rookie who has thrown 4 passes in his NFL career to step into the same Patriot offense and attempt to be Brady-like. It’s not happening. This is a prescription for a losing season and I absolutely see that coming.

My final grade for the 2020 NFL draft to this point is … D+. There is a slight chance that this could elevate their final grade perhaps even to a C with some good choices later in the draft.

This is totally wishful thinking (like my enthusiasm after the trade on Thursday night. Foolish.). Don’t count on it.

It’s not happening.

The New England Patriots are set in their ways and won’t or can’t change. But the difference in 2020 is, they won’t have that safety valve to bail them out again.

I see at best a 5-11 season on the way. Or, if New England Patriot fans are lucky, even worse and the Patriots win the race to the bottom and get to select Trevor Lawrence in next season’s draft with the No. 1 pick. Maybe they’d select him … In any event, expect the worst in 2020.

Maybe we’ll be pleasantly surprised. But don’t bet on it. I see a lousy fall and a long Patriots winter ahead.