Previously we traced the trickle-down value of the Patriots’ 2007 28th overall pick, and today we take a look at what became of their 2009 23rd overall pick. 2009 is one of the most mentioned Patriots drafts because they didn’t select pass rusher extraordinaire Clay Matthews, the alleged cure to all that ails the New England defense. But when we examine all the players they were able to select with the value they got from that pick it’s not quite as obvious a miss.
We begin with the 23rd overall pick in 2009, the Patriots own selection after the Brady-less 2008 campaign. The first trade was that 23rd overall pick to Baltimore (who selected Michael Oher) for the 26th and 162nd overall picks.
The Patriots then swapped those two picks with Green Bay (who took Clay Matthews) for the 41st (Darius Butler), 73rd, and 83rd (Brandon Tate) overall picks.
The 73rd overall pick was then traded to Jacksonville for a 2010 2nd round pick (part of a trade up for Rob Gronkowski) and the 232nd overall pick in 2009 (Julian Edelman).
It’s easy to look back and say the Pats missed out on Matthews, but when you weigh that against the cost of Gronk, Edelman, and even Tate and Butler though they were disappointments and no longer with the team, it puts a different twist on things.
Would Patriots fans trade Gronk for Matthews straight up? That’s hardly an easy decision and I’d venture a guess that most Pats fans would not. Gronk is an impact player in every facet of offensive football. Matthews undoubtedly has an impact as well, especially with his pass rush, but overall I’d argue Gronk has the bigger effect overall in games.
The contributions of Edelman, Tate and Butler must be weighed as well however minimal their impacts may have been. Edelman has provided versatility at a number of positions, while Tate’s 2010 touchdowns absolutely impacted more than a couple games, with the kickoff returns against Miami and Cincinnati standing out as his two best.
Hard to make a case for Darius Butler making any kind of positive impact, but still, it’s easy to see why the Patriots thought he was worth a second round selection at the time given his athleticism.
These draft value trails are prime illustrations of why the Patriots draft the way they do. They are just as concerned with maximizing the value of each and every pick and having a strong team from top to bottom as they are about having single impact players. And as Gronk proves, sometimes the biggest impact players are the ones you get later on by taking a chance on them.
You can pull up the laundry list of draft picks the Patriots have missed on, just like you can for every other NFL team. The difference is that the Patriots mitigate their risk by turning single picks into multiple ones.
At the end of the day the Patriots do not care about any of the criticism of their draft process. There is zero ego involved in their selections. When a player becomes property of the Patriots, regardless of how, they are expected to compete and perform. If they do not they will be cut loose without remorse.
They are not trying to prove that they’re the one football organization in history that hits on every draft pick they make, they’re just trying to win football games, and regardless of missed picks they’ve been doing that consistently for a decade.
