New England Patriots Draft Review for 2016 and 2017: Part One
The NFL's worst-kept secret: the New England Patriots have struggled with drafting players over the last several years. If you are a fan of the team, you have known this for some time. I am starting a series to dive into every Patriots draft selection from the past seven drafts, excluding the most recent one (2016-2022). […]
The NFL's worst-kept secret: the New England Patriots have struggled with drafting players over the last several years.
If you are a fan of the team, you have known this for some time. I am starting a series to dive into every Patriots draft selection from the past seven drafts, excluding the most recent one (2016-2022). I plan on making this a multi-part series and this is the first installment.
The goal of this series is to evaluate each player individually, examining their NFL careers and how the value of the pick compared to the consensus draft board at the time of the drafts. The idea is to explore whether New England often reaches for players and deviates from the obvious picks by going off their own board.
I have made a legend to grade each pick:
- Bust: The player failed to live up to their draft position, and their time with the Patriots resulted in minimal production. Total failure. Only used on players drafted in the first three rounds.
- Miss: The player, usually drafted on day three, never lived up to expectations with the Patriots. It's worth noting that this differs from being labeled a bust, as the initial expectations for the player were not particularly high.
- Depth Player: The player provided valuable depth and saw playing time in a limited capacity for the team.
- Contributor: The player had a starting-level role, 30%+ snaps on offense or defense over the course of several seasons. However, the player never developed into a high-end starter.
- Slam Dunk: The pick was a resounding success, and the player developed into a substantial contributor on either offense or defense.
2016 NFL Draft
Cyrus Jones, Cornerback:
Consensus Board Ranking: 108th Overall
Drafted As: 60th Overall
Last NFL Snap: Sept 2019
Snaps for Patriots: 147
Jones played a mere 147 snaps with the Patriots before being released in September 2018. He would go on to sign with the Baltimore Ravens less than a week later, where he would play another 28 snaps. He bounced around a bit until 2019 but has not been in the NFL since.
Grade: Bust
Joe Thuney, Guard.
Consensus Board Ranking: 130th Overall
Drafted As: 78th Overall
Last NFL Snap: This Season
Snaps for Patriots: 5,488
One of the better offensive draft selections over the last ten years by Belichick, Thuney was a staple in the Patriots offense from 2016 to 2020 before signing a massive five-year, $80,000,000 deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. He is still one of the better interior offensive linemen in the NFL to this day.
Grade: Slam Dunk
Jacoby Brissett, Quarterback.
Consensus Board Ranking: 153rd Overall
Drafted As: 91st Overall
Last NFL Snap: December 2022
Snaps for Patriots: 156
Brissett filled in for an injured Garoppolo during the infamous 2016 Brady suspension. He appeared in three games that season, going 1-1 as a starter. He was traded to the Indianapolis Colts the following year and has since developed into one of the better backup QBs in the NFL. However, he didn't do much for the Patriots.
Grade: Miss
Vincent Valentine:
Consensus Board Ranking: 269th Overall
Drafted As: 96th Overall
Last NFL Snap: Nov 2018
Snaps for Patriots: 286
Valentine did nearly nothing for the team, appearing in just 13 games before short stints with the Seahawks and Cardinals in 2018.
Grade: Miss
Malcolm Mitchell, Wide Receiver.
Consensus Board Ranking: 99th Overall
Drafted As: 112th Overall
Last NFL Snap: Feb 2017
Snaps for Patriots: 637
One of the biggest “What if” players in recent memory, Mitchell played a significant snap share his rookie season and was a big contributor in Super Bowl LI, catching six passes for 70 yards. That was also the last game he would ever appear in. He is the first and only player drafted in the Patriots' 2016 draft class that was considered a good value by the consensus board.
Grade: Miss
Kamu Grugier-Hill, Linebacker.
Consensus Board Ranking: 427th
Drafted As: 208th
Last NFL Snap: This Season
Snaps for Patriots: 0
One of the more interesting picks of this draft class considered a massive reach by consensus, Grugier-Hill did not survive final roster cuts during his rookie season and was released just a few months after being drafted. He went on to become a rotational starter with depth and special teams value and is currently receiving starting snaps for the Carolina Panthers, over seven years after being drafted by the Patriots.
Grade: Miss
Elandon Roberts, Linebacker.
Consensus Board Ranking: 288th Overall
Drafted As: 214th Overall
Last NFL Snap: This Season
Snaps for Patriots: 1,772
Roberts spent the duration of his rookie contract in New England before spending three seasons in Miami. He is now in Pittsburgh. He was a key contributor on defense for several seasons and was a versatile player who made contributions to the defense, offense, and special teams. He has never developed into a high-end starter, but he was definitely a good pick in the sixth round.
Grade: Contributor
Ted Karras, Guard.
Consensus Board Ranking: 338th Overall
Drafted As: 221st Overall
Last NFL Snap: This Season
Snaps for Patriots: 2,430
Karras spent five seasons in New England, serving both as a depth option and starter. He is currently a starter for the Cincinnati Bengals and has spent most of his career as a solid interior offensive lineman that offers great depth and is a viable starting option. Similar to Elandon Roberts, this is a good pick in the sixth round.
Grade: Contributor
Devin Lucien, Wide Receiver.
Consensus Board Ranking: 341st Overall
Drafted As: 225th Overall
Last NFL Snap: Never
Snaps for Patriots: 0
Lucien never took a snap in the NFL. He bounced around the NFL practice squads and other football leagues.
Grade: Miss
2017 NFL Draft
3.83: Derek Rivers, DE.
3.85: Antonio Garcia, OT.
4.131: Deatrich Wise, DE.
6.211: Conor McDermott, OT.
Derek Rivers, Edge.
Consensus Board Ranking: 80th Overall
Drafted As: 83rd Overall
Last NFL Snap: Jan 2021
Snaps for Patriots: 123
The 2017 NFL draft class was unique for the Patriots as they had to forfeit their first-round pick due to the Deflate-Gate scandal. Their first selection was Rivers in the third round. Rivers' career was marred by injuries, and he only played a handful of snaps with the team. However, he is still in the league on the Texans' practice squad.
Grade: Bust
Antonio Garcia, Guard.
Consensus Board Ranking: 85th Overall
Drafted As: 92nd Overall
Last NFL Snap: Never
Snaps for Patriots: 0
Garcia faced an uphill battle early in his career. Following his rookie season, it was discovered that he had blood clots in his lungs. As a result, he could not work out or practice and dropped 40 pounds. Three months after his blood clots were discovered, he was released by the Patriots. He had brief stints in the NFL with the Jets, Colts, and Dolphins before ending up in various football leagues. Most recently, he played this season but retired a few weeks after signing.
Grade: Bust
Deatrich Wise, Defensive End.
Consensus Board Ranking: 156th Overall
Drafted As: 131st Overall
Last NFL Snap: This Season
Snaps for Patriots: 3,443
The first and only player listed so far who is still on the team, Wise has been heavily involved in the rotation since day one. More of a role player than an elite force, Wise is coming off his best season as a pass rusher, recording 56 pressures – the most since his rookie season. He has developed into a steady presence on the defensive line and saw a career-high in snaps in 2022. Given where he was drafted, finding a seven-year starter in the fourth round classifies as a great pick.
Grade: Slam Dunk
Conor McDermott
Consensus Board Ranking: 235th Overall
Drafted As: 211th Overall
Last NFL Snap: Jan 2023
Snaps for Patriots: 361
McDermott was drafted by the Patriots in 2017 but was waived during final roster cut-downs. He was claimed by the Buffalo Bills the following day and would bounce around the league for many seasons, seeing minimal snaps as a backup tackle. He returned to the Patriots in the middle of the 2022 NFL season and started for the final six games of the season. He surprisingly performed well during that stretch and was re-signed with the intention of competing for the Patriots' starting right tackle spot for the 2023 season. However, he was released in September 2023. Although the draft pick didn’t result in significant production, they did get some value out of him during his 2022 stretch.
Grade: Depth Player
Breakdown (2016 and 2017):
- Slam-Dunks: Two
- Contributors: Two
- Depth Players: One
- Busts/Misses: Eight
Reaches: I am defining a reach as a player selected one round (32 picks) or higher than the consensus board rankings. Out of the 13 players selected between the two drafts, seven of them were drafted at least one round higher than the consensus rankings
It may not seem like it, but even drafts from this long ago still impact the team today. There are still several franchise-defining players from the 2016 drafts who remain on the team that drafted them. This only marks the beginning of the rough draft classes over the past seven seasons. The Patriots lack talent at every level of the field, and frankly, they don't have an NFL-caliber offense, largely due to the drafting decisions of the New England Patriots' front office.
