Analyzing The 2000-08 Patriots Drafts

There’s no question that the guts of the New England Patriots championship teams in 2001, 2003 and 2004 were built on the drafting abilities that came from the partnership of Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli.

How good were they in the draft? Check out the three Lombardi Trophies for the best evidence. And the guys that have been key factors in those victories: Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, Matt Light, Dan Koppen, Vince Wilfork, Asante Samuel, all were Belichick/Pioli draft choices.

Overall, the Patriots selected 77 players in nine drafts. From that group came 16 Pro Bowl trips to this date, by seven different players. At one point or another, 54 of those players got on the field for the Patriots, 17 became starters at some point and not counting the 2007-08 classes, 15 of 63 picks started at least 36 games.

For a comparison, let’s look at the Chiefs in the same period. They drafted 72 players and from that came five Pro Bowl trips by three players. At one point or another 59 players got on the field for at least one game for the Chiefs, 16 became starters and excluding the ‘07-’08 classes, 11 of 53 picks started at least 36 games.

Conclusion: the Patriots got more top-notch play from their draft picks based on championships and Pro Bowls. It was tougher to get on the field in New England than in Kansas City, yet the Patriots were able to get more solid starters out of the draft than a team with a less successful decade.

They did that by drafting in first round spots that were not primo: in nine drafts they averaged the 20th position.  They had 11 first-round choices in that time frame, but gave up one in compensation for getting Belichick.  The other first round pick was taken away by the league in the videotaping scandal.

So how much credit goes to Pioli? There’s no question he was a key part of the process and there is no denying that he deserves credit, along with a handful of other personnel people, scouts and coaches. But there’s also no doubt that having Belichick as the triggerman is quite an advantage over other teams.

Pioli’s fingerprints are on these nine Patriots drafts. They made some great selections and they made some that did not pan out. There seldom made early mistakes, getting production out of all their first round picks, although they were not nearly as successful in the second and third round.

But one characteristics of any good drafting team is the ability to find starters and contributors on the second day, which until last year was the fourth through seventh rounds. The Patriots have hit the jackpot there, finding guys like Brady, Koppen, Samuel, James Sanders, Matt Cassel, Patrick Pass, David Givens and Stephen Gostkowski. Four of those players have been to the Pro Bowl. All were taken at pick No. 118 or lower.

Super Bowls and victories are the ultimate evidence of good drafts.  The Patriots have three championships, although the last one was now five years ago.  In this decade, they’ve won 5, 11, 9, 14, 14, 10, 12, 16 and 11 games.  That’s a total of 102 regular season victories.  Add another 14 victories in the post-season and that’s 116 winning games with one full season yet to be played.

The Steelers of the 1970s won four titles and a total of 113 games.

The 49ers of the 1980s won three titles and a total of 117 games.

The Cowboys of the 1990s won three titles and a total of 112 games.

Here’s how the Patriots handled the NFL Draft over the last nine seasons, with a pick-by-pick review of the 77 choices that have helped them put together what will be the winningest decade in pro football history.

This is the resume of Scott Pioli.