Bill Belichick and his team have faced challenges in recent years when it comes to drafting, but the 2019 draft class was pitiful. 

This is the third part in my draft review series. My goal is 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 third 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.

2019 NFL Draft

1.32: N’Keal Harry, WR.

2.45: JoeJuan Williams, CB.

3.77: Chase Winovich, Edge

3.87: Damien Harris, RB.

3.101: Yodny Cajuste, OT.

4.118: Hjalte Froholdt, OL.

4.133: Jarrett Stidham, QB.

5.159: Byron Cowart, DL.

5.163: Jake Bailey, Punter

7.252: Ken Webster, CB.

N'Keal Harry, Wide Receiver. 

Consensus Board Ranking: 36th Overall
Drafted As: 32nd Overall
Last NFL Snap: Jan 2023
Snap for Patriots: 1,175

Harry is infamously known as the greatest bust of Bill Belichick's GM career. It was a disaster from the start, and Harry never gained any traction. He was traded to the Bears at the end of the 2022 training camp and now finds himself on the Vikings' practice squad. This selection will continue to elicit a negative reaction for years to come, and the fact that others drafted after him have found significant success only adds salt to the wound. Teams typically expects to acquire capable-to-elite starters in the first round of the draft, and this pick was neither. You can categorize this selection under the "colossal bust" section.

Grade: Bust

JoeJuan Williams, Cornerback. 

Consensus Board Ranking: 66th Overall
Drafted As 45th Overall
Last NFL Snap: Jan 2022
Snaps for Patriots: 552 

Another infamous bust, Williams played even fewer snaps than Harry. There isn't much to say here, but the lengthy cornerback from Vanderbilt never caught on in the NFL, although he wasn't given many reps. He was on the Minnesota Vikings' practice squad until last week but was recently signed to the Chicago Bears' active roster. Maybe there's another chance on the horizon for the 25-year-old castoff. Similar to Harry, you expect to get players who can make an impact on your team in the first three rounds. Williams hardly touched the field. Another huge miss.

Grade: Bust 

Chase Winovich, Edge. 

Consensus Board Ranking: 45th Overall
Drafted As: 77th Overall
Last NFL Snap: This Season
Snaps for Patriots: 998

Winovich quickly became a fan favorite at the start of his career. He began as a high-motor player who always seemed to be involved in crucial plays. However, his lack of versatility and strength as a run defender made him somewhat one-dimensional and expendable. Eventually, his snap count decreased in favor of more well-rounded players, and he was traded to the Browns for Mack Wilson. After a brief period with the Browns, he is now with the Dolphins. He only saw 30%+ total defensive snaps one time in his career.

Grade: Depth Player

Damien Harris, Running Back.

Consensus Board Ranking: 74th Overall
Drafted As: 87th Overall
Last NFL Snap: Oct 2023
Snaps for Patriots: 918

Harris was valuable for a brief period before signing with the Bills after his rookie contract expired this past offseason. His time in New England had its highs and lows but was marred by injuries.

Grade: Contributor

Yodny Cajuste, Offensive Tackle.

Consensus Board Ranking: 83rd Overall
Drafted As: 101st Overall
Last NFL Snap: Jan 2023
Snaps for Patriots: 278

Cajuste never really got a chance to get going; he missed his first two seasons due to a string of injuries and just never really caught on. Most of his snaps (197 out of 278) came in his final year in 2022. He started for a three-game stretch in 2022 and was pretty disappointing, allowing 12 pressures in three starts. He was released in May 2023 and spent a short time with the Jets over the summer. He is currently a free agent.

Grade: Bust

Hjalte Froholdt, Offensive Line.

Consensus Board Ranking: 176th Overall
Drafted As: 118th Overall
Last NFL Snap: This Season
Snaps for Patriots: 61

Froholdt had bright moments in training camp during his time with the Patriots but remained buried on the depth chart. The team waived Froholdt after three seasons, and he was quickly claimed by the Cleveland Browns, where he got starter reps for the first time. He signed with the Cardinals in the offseason and is currently a starter.

Grade: Miss

Jarrett Stidham, Quarterback. 

Consensus Board Ranking: 143rd Overall
Drafted As: 133rd Overall
Last NFL Snap: Jan 2023
Snaps for Patriots: 100

The Patriots have a tendency to select their backup QBs on day three of the draft. I don't fault them for this approach, as a reliable backup is a valuable asset. However, I believe there might be more efficient ways to allocate resources than repeating this process every few years, as it limits the number of "darts" they can throw at positions of greater value. It's not necessarily a flawed process, though. Stidham served as a backup QB but often found himself as the third QB on the roster. The team's decision to carry an additional backup suggests they weren't entirely comfortable with him, which makes it challenging to give this pick a favorable grade.

Grade: Miss

Byron Cowart, Interior Defensive Line.

Consensus Board Ranking: 300th Overall
Drafted As: 159th
Last NFL Snap: Jan 2023
Snaps for Patriots: 462

Cowart was once one of the most sought-after five-star prospects in the country. Despite a disappointing collegiate career, he entered the NFL as more of an athlete with a high pedigree than a strong NFL prospect. The team invested time in his development before giving him substantial snaps in 2020. However, it seems the team wasn't satisfied with his rate of growth, as they waived Cowart in July 2022. Since then, he has had stints with the Colts, Chiefs, Texans, and is currently signed to the Dolphins' practice squad. I appreciate the strategy of taking a chance on a high-pedigree player at this stage in the draft, where you can explore players with high upside. However, it's difficult to give this pick a good grade, given that it didn't yield much. 

Grade: Depth Player

Jake Bailey, Punter.

Consensus Board Ranking: 360th Overall
Drafted As: 163rd Overall
Last NFL Snap: This Season
Punts: 280

Bailey's story is one of the weirdest in recent Patriots history. His career arguably started off better than any punter in NFL history. He was solid in his first season but broke out as an All-Pro in his sophomore campaign. It seemed like the Patriots had found a high-end starting punter for the next decade. However, that wasn't the case. Bailey's career took a nosedive from there. He followed up his All-Pro season with two straight seasons of being one of the worst punters in the NFL. His time with the team came to an end amid an oddly contentious injury and contract situation, which resulted in Bailey filing a grievance against the team. He was released just nine months after signing a deal that made him one of the highest-paid punters in the NFL. He is currently the starting punter for the Miami Dolphins. Beyond the unique circumstances, drafting a punter in the fifth round is rich. It's widely considered a bad process to spend assets on special teams unless it's the 6th or 7th round. On the other hand, Bailey was a starter for three and a half seasons and was once elite.

Grade: Contributor 

Ken Webster, Cornerback.  

Consensus Board Ranking: 306th Overall
Drafted As: 252nd Overall
Last NFL Snap: Oct 2020
Snaps for Patriots: 0

Webster never took a snap for the Patriots and was released during final roster cutdowns the same year he was drafted.

Grade: Miss 

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Breakdown (2019):

• Slam-Dunks: Zero
• Contributors: Two
• Depth Players: Two
• Busts/Misses: Six

I mentioned in part two how the 2018 Patriots draft class was the beginning of the end of the dynasty run. This class was equally bad. In fact, the players drafted in this class ended up with worse NFL careers. The only reason I believe 2018 was slightly more disappointing is because they had two first-round picks with a chance to set the franchise ahead, and instead, they drafted the wrong players and set the franchise back. The 2018 draft class put the wheels in motion for the end of the dynasty, and the 2019 draft class was the nail in the coffin. It's hard to imagine Brady didn't factor the failure that was both draft classes into his decision to depart from a team that was starving for talent.