Patriots Insider: Bill Belichick has hit on his last three NFL drafts
Who said Bill Belichick can’t draft. While the New England Patriots head coach will always receive his knocks as a general manager for past draft failures, one can’t deny the last two drafts have been solid.
With high draft picks like Sony Michel, N’Keal Harry and Isaiah Wynn going down as busts as far as Patriots fans are concerned, Belichick has found some hits in his last two drafts. With Mac Jones, Rhamondre Stevenson and Christian Barmore still making their marks on the team, that 2021 NFL draft is now being sandwiched by a 2020 and 2022 draft that are turning out solid as well.
Going back to that 2020 NFL draft, Kyle Dugger is shaping up to be one of the best safeties in the league, third-round pick Josh Uche is morphing into a star right before our very eyes. Let’s not forget Michael Onwenu, who has been the best team’s best offensive lineman this season and Anfernee Jennings who has step up as a contributor in the defensive front seven.
Patriots last three NFL drafts: Belichick has had more hits and misses
Still, Belichick will get some slack for that draft because the two tight ends he drafted in Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene never made an impact. But there are hits and there will be misses in every draft for every team. Despite the few misses, the last three drafts have had a high percentage of hits.
While Mac Jones is still trying to find his way, a successful rookie season did show Belichick knows how to develop a quarterback just as much as Mac’s sophomore season is showing Belichick’s ability to halt the progression of an NFL quarterback. But this article is not about that. Along with Stevenson and Barmore, the Patriots still have Ronnie Perkins, Cameron McGone and Joshuah Bledsoe who can still morph into something, which brings us to the 2022 NFL Draft.
Although most critics believe Belichick reached in this recent draft in selecting offensive lineman Cole Strange in the first round and wide receiver Tyquan Thornton in the second round, the Patriots rookies are contributing to the team. Fourth-round pick Bailey Zappe stepped in and gave fans some “Zappe fever” while Mac Jones was out and defensive backs Jack Jones and Marcus Jones have created a buzz throughout Patriots Nation.
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If that wasn’t enough, the Patriots received contributions from their two rookie running backs in the team’s 27-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night. With Stephenson and Damien Harris on the sidelines, Kevin Harris and Pierre Strong Jr. showed glimpses of what they can do. In all, the rookies have been stepping up for Belichick.
"“Everybody’s got a role,” Belichick said of his rookies. “And when their number is called hopefully, they’ll come through for us. These guys work hard. They all do, but certainly it’s good to see some of the young guys and even (DB Brendan) Schooler, (DL DeMarcus) Mitchell in the kicking game and obviously the guys that scored the touchdowns or intercepted passes. They’re easy to spot. (QB Bailey) Zappe had some contributions a little bit earlier in the year when he played. It takes everybody. I thought we had that tonight. We had everybody pulling tonight.”"
While Belichick is not one to pat himself on the back, he deserves the right with this draft and the last two to be honest. As players like Dugger, Onwenu, Uche, Barmore, Stevenson and even Mac Jones continue to shine, this year’s draft class will only get better because of their experiences during their rookie seasons.
Next. 4 New England Patriots rookies Bill Belichick need to hit on in 2022. dark
In other words, Bill Belichick really needed these last three drafts to click and as the team continues to find a path towards the players in 2022, he will need those contributions to keep stepping up. Actually, that might be what saves his job.