I'm told often that new threads are good. So I'm making this a new thread, though I really feel like there's another thread it should be part of. Anyway, recently Julian Edelman spoke publicly about BB whiffing on WR picks. So here's all the WRs that BB has picked since being with the Pats.
2002 - 2nd round, #65 - Deion Branch
2002 - 7th round, #253 - David Givens
2003 - 2nd round, #45 - Bethel Johnson
2004 - 5th round, #164 - PK Sam
2006 - 2nd round, #36 - Chad Jackson
2008 - 5th round, #153 - Matthew Slater
2009 - 3rd round, #83 - Brandon Tate
2009 - 7th round, #232 - Julian Edelman
2010 - 3rd round, #90 - Taylor Price
2012 - 7th round, #235 - Jeremy Ebert
2013 - 2nd round, #59 - Aaron Dobson
2013 - 4th round, #102 - Josh Boyce
2014 - 7th round, #244 - Jeremy Gallon
2016 - 4th round, #112 - Malcolm Mitchell
2016 - 7th round, #225 - Devin Lucien
2018 - 6th round, #210 - Braxton Berrios
2019 - 1st round, #32 - N'Keal Harry
2021 - 7th round, #242 - Tre Nixon
2022 - 2nd round, #50 - Tyquan Thornton
2023 - 6th round, #187 - Kayshon Boutte
2023 - 6th round, #210 - Demario Douglas
Let's first start out by looking at these drafted players by draft round.
So this is 21 WRs drafted by BB with the Pats.
1st round: 1 - Harry
2nd round: 5 - Branch, Johnson, Jackson, Dobson, Thornton
3rd round: 2 - Tate, Price
4th round: 2 - Boyce, Mitchell
5th round: 2 - Sam, Slater
6th round: 3 - Berrios, Boutte, Douglas
7th round: 6 - Givens, Edelman, Ebert, Gallon, Lucien, Nixon
Trying to be my most objective here as I go through this list:
1st round
- Harry: Total bust. Terrible pick. Hasn't performed with NE or anywhere else. Grade: F
2nd round
- Branch: Excellent NFL career. Never a pro bowler, but a solid, solid player who won a SB MVP. Great pick. Grade: A
- Johnson: Never much of a receiver, but for 4 years in the NFL he was a really good kick return guy. But....that's not why you draft a guy in the 2nd round. Missed opportunity. Grade: C-
- Jackson: Never did anything in the NFL. Swing and miss. Grade: F
- Dobson: Mixed feelings on this guy. Showed some promise as a rookie, but in the final analysis, wasn't a good pick. Only played 3 years in the NFL and was unproductive in two of them. I thought he could be good, but he wasn't, when all is said and done. Miss. Grade: D+
- Thornton: Jury is still out. But so far, he hasn't produced anything yet. Grade: Incomplete
3rd round
- Tate: Not much of a receiver, but also a good return man. Had a nice, long NFL career, playing for TEN years. Grade: C
- Price: Didn't do anything. Grade: F
4th round
- Boyce: Didn't do anything, only played 2 years. Did win a Super Bowl though! Grade: D-
- Mitchell: Interesting pick. Injuries killed his career, but I don't fault the pick. He had a good rookie year and was absolutely instrumental in them winning a SB. Grade: B-
5th round
- Sam: Did nothing in the NFL. Grade: F
- Slater: Nothing as a WR, but has become one of the best special teamers of all time. Which is why they drafted him. Grade: A+ (but with the caveat that he's not REALLY a WR)
6th round
- Berrios: Has had a very nice NFL career. Decent WR production and a very good return guy. He did nothing for NE, because they released him, but in terms of it being a *draft pick*, I'd give this a very good grade. Grade: B+
- Boutte: Hasn't seen the field much. Grade: Incomplete
- Douglas: Has shown real talent but who knows. Grade: Incomplete
7th round
- Givens: Solid NFL career, everything you'd want in a 7th round pick. Grade: A
- Edelman: Nothing really needs to be said. Absolute home run pick for any round, never mind 7th. Grade: A+
- Ebert: 3 receptions for Jax in 2013! Grade: F
- Gallon: Nothing. Grade: F
- Lucien: Nothing. Grade: F
- Nixon: Nothing, but he kinda keeps hanging around the NFL. Grade: D-
Obviously most guys regardless of position that are drafted in the 5th round or later aren't going to do much in the NFL, so an "F" grade is what we'd expect. But here's the final score:
A+: 2
A: 2
B+: 1
B: 0
B-: 1
C+: 0
C: 1
C-: 1
D+: 1
D: 0
D-: 2
F: 7
INC: 3
That's a rough GPA (using this calculator) of 1.98, or an average grade of almost exactly a C, with 3 incompletes.
Now this isn't linear. Getting an F on a 1st round pick is REALLY bad. But also...getting an absolute A+ home run franchise hall of famer with a 7th round pick is worth a LOT. So I don't really know how to "weight" these grades.
2002 - 2nd round, #65 - Deion Branch
2002 - 7th round, #253 - David Givens
2003 - 2nd round, #45 - Bethel Johnson
2004 - 5th round, #164 - PK Sam
2006 - 2nd round, #36 - Chad Jackson
2008 - 5th round, #153 - Matthew Slater
2009 - 3rd round, #83 - Brandon Tate
2009 - 7th round, #232 - Julian Edelman
2010 - 3rd round, #90 - Taylor Price
2012 - 7th round, #235 - Jeremy Ebert
2013 - 2nd round, #59 - Aaron Dobson
2013 - 4th round, #102 - Josh Boyce
2014 - 7th round, #244 - Jeremy Gallon
2016 - 4th round, #112 - Malcolm Mitchell
2016 - 7th round, #225 - Devin Lucien
2018 - 6th round, #210 - Braxton Berrios
2019 - 1st round, #32 - N'Keal Harry
2021 - 7th round, #242 - Tre Nixon
2022 - 2nd round, #50 - Tyquan Thornton
2023 - 6th round, #187 - Kayshon Boutte
2023 - 6th round, #210 - Demario Douglas
Let's first start out by looking at these drafted players by draft round.
So this is 21 WRs drafted by BB with the Pats.
1st round: 1 - Harry
2nd round: 5 - Branch, Johnson, Jackson, Dobson, Thornton
3rd round: 2 - Tate, Price
4th round: 2 - Boyce, Mitchell
5th round: 2 - Sam, Slater
6th round: 3 - Berrios, Boutte, Douglas
7th round: 6 - Givens, Edelman, Ebert, Gallon, Lucien, Nixon
Trying to be my most objective here as I go through this list:
1st round
- Harry: Total bust. Terrible pick. Hasn't performed with NE or anywhere else. Grade: F
2nd round
- Branch: Excellent NFL career. Never a pro bowler, but a solid, solid player who won a SB MVP. Great pick. Grade: A
- Johnson: Never much of a receiver, but for 4 years in the NFL he was a really good kick return guy. But....that's not why you draft a guy in the 2nd round. Missed opportunity. Grade: C-
- Jackson: Never did anything in the NFL. Swing and miss. Grade: F
- Dobson: Mixed feelings on this guy. Showed some promise as a rookie, but in the final analysis, wasn't a good pick. Only played 3 years in the NFL and was unproductive in two of them. I thought he could be good, but he wasn't, when all is said and done. Miss. Grade: D+
- Thornton: Jury is still out. But so far, he hasn't produced anything yet. Grade: Incomplete
3rd round
- Tate: Not much of a receiver, but also a good return man. Had a nice, long NFL career, playing for TEN years. Grade: C
- Price: Didn't do anything. Grade: F
4th round
- Boyce: Didn't do anything, only played 2 years. Did win a Super Bowl though! Grade: D-
- Mitchell: Interesting pick. Injuries killed his career, but I don't fault the pick. He had a good rookie year and was absolutely instrumental in them winning a SB. Grade: B-
5th round
- Sam: Did nothing in the NFL. Grade: F
- Slater: Nothing as a WR, but has become one of the best special teamers of all time. Which is why they drafted him. Grade: A+ (but with the caveat that he's not REALLY a WR)
6th round
- Berrios: Has had a very nice NFL career. Decent WR production and a very good return guy. He did nothing for NE, because they released him, but in terms of it being a *draft pick*, I'd give this a very good grade. Grade: B+
- Boutte: Hasn't seen the field much. Grade: Incomplete
- Douglas: Has shown real talent but who knows. Grade: Incomplete
7th round
- Givens: Solid NFL career, everything you'd want in a 7th round pick. Grade: A
- Edelman: Nothing really needs to be said. Absolute home run pick for any round, never mind 7th. Grade: A+
- Ebert: 3 receptions for Jax in 2013! Grade: F
- Gallon: Nothing. Grade: F
- Lucien: Nothing. Grade: F
- Nixon: Nothing, but he kinda keeps hanging around the NFL. Grade: D-
Obviously most guys regardless of position that are drafted in the 5th round or later aren't going to do much in the NFL, so an "F" grade is what we'd expect. But here's the final score:
A+: 2
A: 2
B+: 1
B: 0
B-: 1
C+: 0
C: 1
C-: 1
D+: 1
D: 0
D-: 2
F: 7
INC: 3
That's a rough GPA (using this calculator) of 1.98, or an average grade of almost exactly a C, with 3 incompletes.
Now this isn't linear. Getting an F on a 1st round pick is REALLY bad. But also...getting an absolute A+ home run franchise hall of famer with a 7th round pick is worth a LOT. So I don't really know how to "weight" these grades.