Here are the 15 greatest Patriots draft picks of the Bill Belichick era
The New England Patriots have been fortunate to have had more than a handful of legendary players walk through the doors of Gillette Stadium. Iron sharpening iron is the only way a single NFL franchise could win six Super Bowls over two decades.
However, it’s a new era in Foxboro with the stars from yesteryear going their separate ways. The 2024 NFL Draft will be decided by a new regime featuring Patriots’ first-year head coach Jerod Mayo and de facto general manager Eliot Wolf.
What those two individuals do will ultimately forge a path to hopefully a brighter future in New England.
For now, we’re going to be taking a stroll down memory lane and revisiting some of the greatest players ever drafted by the team since 2000, which was the start of the Bill Belichick era.
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Here’s a ranking of the top-15 players ever drafted by the legendary former Patriots coach:
15: Asante Samuel
Super Bowl champion (2x)First-team All-Pro (1x)Second-team All-Pro (1x)Pro Bowl (4x)NFL interceptions leader (2x)
Asante Samuel was a dominant enforcer on the backend of the Patriots’ defense, helping to lead the way in the team’s perfect run in the 2007 regular season. The former fourth-round draft pick out of Central Florida played well above his draft stock and proved to be another major steal in the Belichick era. He earned four Pro Bowl nods and led the NFL in interceptions for two seasons.
14: Jerod Mayo
Super Bowl champion (1x)NFL Defensive Rookie of the YearFirst-team All-Pro (1x)Pro Bowl (2x)
Jerod Mayo was such a general on the field that he earned coach Belichick’s trust as a first-year player and was promoted to team captain in only his second season with the Patriots. It’s was an unprecedented move for a defensive player who seemingly went from unproven rookie to leader overnight. Mayo was an incredible athlete and strategist on the field. Honestly, it’s no surprise he’s the one that ended up supplanting Belichick as Patriots head coach.
13: Deion Branch
Super Bowl champion (2x)Super Bowl XXXIX MVP
Deion Branch had a strong connection with Tom Brady from the start, and it paid off on the biggest stages. The former Patriots receiver earned Super Bowl MVP honors after torching the Philadelphia Eagles defense for 11 receptions and 133 yards in Super Bowl XXXIX. That performance came on the heels of another dominant performance the previous year against the Carolina Panthers in a game in which he had 10 receptions for 143 yards and one touchdown.
12: Stephen Gostkowski
Super Bowl champion (3x)First-team All-Pro (2x)Second-team All-Pro (1x)Pro Bowler (4x)NFL scoring leader (5x)
Stephen Gostkowski proved just how spoiled the Patriots were coming off Adam Vinatieri. They went from one legendary kicker to another. Gostkowski led the NFL in scoring five times, and he was a two-time first-team All-Pro specialist. He made some of the biggest kicks in franchise history and helped set the Patriots up for success in an incredible 14-year run.
11: Matt Light
Super Bowl champion (3x)First-team All-Pro (1x)Pro Bowl (3x)
Tom Brady would be one of the first to vouch for Matt Light being on this list. The former standout Patriots offensive tackle was a big reason why the greatest quarterback in NFL history had time to throw in the pocket for his first 11 years as a starter. Light, a three-time Pro Bowler, was a force on the offensive line for a Patriots unit that went from run-heavy to pass-heavy in the later years of his NFL career.
10: James White
Super Bowl champion (3x)
James White was more than just the Super Bowl LI hero for the Patriots. He was a reliable playmaker in the most impossible moments. This is the kind of player who comes to mind when the Patriots’ oft-used “Do Your Job” slogan comes up. White played his role to the best of his ability every time he was on the field, and his willingness to do so helped the Patriots win a lot of football games. He’s still tied for the most points ever scored in a Super Bowl for a single player.
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9: Devin McCourty
Super Bowl champion (3x)Second-team All-Pro (3x)Pro Bowl (2x)
Belichick loves his Rutgers players, and he clearly knocked it out of the park when taking Devin McCourty with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. McCourty was a mainstay in the Patriots’ defensive backfield for 13 years and helped lead the way into the second half of the greatest dynasty in NFL history. He got the rare opportunity to retire on his own terms after spending his entire career playing for one team.
8: Dont'a Hightower
Super Bowl champion (3x)Second-team All-Pro (1x)Pro Bowl (2x)
Dont’a Hightower is one of the greatest defensive players that has ever played in New England. He doesn’t get nearly enough credit for game-saving plays in at least two Super Bowl victories. Before Malcolm Butler even had a chance to intercept former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s pass from the 1-yard line at Super Bowl XLIX, Hightower somehow managed to solo tackle “Beast Mode” Marshawn Lynch at that 1-yard line.
Hightower also had a strip sack on former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to help create the greatest comeback in history at Super Bowl LI.
7: Logan Mankins
First-team All-Pro (1x)Second-team All-Pro (5x)Pro Bowl (7x)
A battle with Logan Mankins in a phone booth would be like wrestling with a bear. The legendary former Patriots offensive guard was downright nasty to deal with in the trenches. That toughness was carried throughout his career and helped him achieve seven Pro Bowl nods. It’s a shame he wasn’t a part of any of the Super Bowl-winning teams because he truly deserved to hoist a Lombardi Trophy at least once in his career.
6: Vince Wilfork
Super Bowl champion (2x)First-team All-Pro (1x)Second-team All-Pro (4x)Pro Bowl (5x)
There were times when Vince Wilfork seemed unguardable by an opposing offensive line. Teams needed help to keep the legendary nose tackle from wrecking the offensive game plan, but there were moments when even double-teaming him wasn’t enough. Wilfork had a career worthy of a Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. He was a rare talent on the football field and an even better person off it.
5: Matthew Slater
Super Bowl champion (3x)First-team All-Pro (5x)Second-team All-Pro (3x)Pro Bowl (10x)
Matthew Slater isn’t just one of the greatest players drafted by the Patriots since 2000, he’s one of the best players drafted, period. Canton will come calling at some point for the 10-time Pro Bowl special-teamer to be immortalized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was truly one of the all-time greats on and off the field for the Patriots. Not bad for a former fifth-round draft pick wide receiver out of UCLA.
4: Julian Edelman
Super Bowl champion (3x)Super Bowl LIII MVP
There has never been a tougher player that has put on a pair of cleats than Julian Edelman. Simply making the Patriots football team was a grind for the former Kent State quarterback turned wide receiver. He worked his way up to becoming one of Tom Brady’s best all-time receiving targets and one of the best Super Bowl performers the NFL has ever seen.
Whether it was the miracle catch against the Atlanta Falcons at Super Bowl LI or torching the dominant Los Angeles Rams defense for 141 receiving yards at Super Bowl LIIII, Edelman was always sure to make his presence felt in the biggest moments.
3: Richard Seymour
Super Bowl champion (3x)Pro Football Hall of Famer (2022)First-team All-Pro (3x)Second-Team All-Pro (1x)Pro Bowl (7x)
Richard Seymour caused nightmares for opposing offenses in the 12 seasons he played in the NFL. The Pro Football Hall of Famer won three Super Bowls, while also earning three first-team All-Pro and seven Pro Bowl nods. He was a no-brainer first-round draft pick out of the University of Georgia, and he went on to be ranked among the league’s all-time great defensive ends.
2: Rob Gronkowski
Super Bowl champion (4x)First-team All-Pro (4x)Pro Bowl (5x)NFL receiving touchdowns leader (2011)NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2014)
Travis Kelce is one of the best to ever do it, but make no mistake, Rob Gronkowski is the greatest tight end of all time. He had the sort of size and athleticism that could only be recreated in a “Madden” video game. His route tree was like the best receiver on the field, and he could also block with the ferocity of a starting NFL offensive lineman. He was the ultimate cheat code and a weekly mismatch for opposing teams.
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1: Tom Brady
Super Bowl champion (7x)Super Bowl MVP (5x)NFL MVP (3x)NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2x)NFL Comeback Player of the Year (1x)First-team All-Pro (3x)Second-team All-Pro (3x)Pro Bowl (15x)NFL completion percentage leader (2007)NFL passer rating leader (2x)NFL passing yards leader (4x)NFL passing touchdowns leader (5x)
A book could literally be written on Tom Brady’s accolades in the NFL. The former sixth-round draft pick out of the University of Michigan went from league hopeful to the greatest quarterback of all time. He spearheaded the Patriots’ dynasty for nearly two full decades, before going off on his own and leading the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl win in his first year with the team. There has never been a player like Brady before, and there probably won’t be another player to ever set the standard at quarterback to that extreme.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 15 greatest Patriots draft picks of the Bill Belichick era
