NFL Notes: Does Bill Belichick’s eye for undrafted players make up for poor drafts? - Boston Herald

Bill Belichick has taken his share of lumps for the number of draft busts he’s produced recently, particularly those made within the past decade.

It wasn’t the best look to see both N’Keal Harry and Joejuan Williams, the Patriots’ top two picks in the 2019 draft, as healthy scratches last week in favor of two practice squad players (Kristian Wilkerson, D’Angelo Ross), who were undrafted.

It’s no secret. A succession of poor drafts have left the talent cupboard a bit thin. That’s one of the chief reasons Belichick had to spend a fortune during the offseason replenishing and reloading.

After the 2020 season, there was little to no depth at far too many positions, and no reinforcements from past drafts to take over, because many of those players had already been sent packing.

The Hoodie, however, hasn’t struck out completely on evaluating young players. He’s rich in undrafted picks who have either turned into stars or important role players.

The list is pretty impressive. During the past decade alone, Brandon Bolden arrived in 2012. David Andrews and Brandon King were signed in 2015. Jonathan Jones was signed in 2016. J.C. Jackson in 2018. Jakobi Meyers, Gunner Olszewski and Jakob Johnson in 2019. Myles Bryant and J.J. Taylor in 2020.

While hitting in the undrafted free agent pool doesn’t necessarily make up for bad drafts — consistently missing on early-round picks is usually devastating to a team — it does take away some of the sting.

Case in point: they blew it big-time with first round pick Harry, but found a diamond in the rough in Meyers the same year.

Jackson, meanwhile, is a Pro Bowl cornerback. In some ways, he made up for 2018 second-round pick Duke Dawson not stepping in at corner. Andrews, who is worthy of being a Pro Bowl center, arrived the same year as fourth-round pick Shaq Mason, so in the final analysis, they scored two long-time starters for the offensive line that year.

Jonathan Jones, meanwhile, has in some ways made up for 2016 second-round pick Cyrus Jones being a bust. He’s been a fixture at slot corner, and this year alone, Jonathan Jones’ absence in the secondary due to a season-ending injury has been noticeable in the big games.

Given how much Belichick values special teams units, King and Olszewski also qualify in the win category for the Patriots.

Of course, if they hit on the top draft picks, as well as the undrafteds, they’d really be cooking. But that’s not how it’s gone down. While this year looks like a home run, with Mac Jones, Christian Barmore and Rhamondre Stevenson seemingly future stars, the Pats have had some serious lulls when it comes to hitting it early with picks, and have paid the price.

That being said, there have been a few silver linings along the way.

“You can focus on the misses,” said Patriots Hall of Famer Rodney Harrison, “but what about the ones you get right?

“The one thing with Bill, he’s not afraid to take a chance on guys. That’s what Bill does, he’ll see something in a particular player that a lot of people don’t see. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. But I like the fact he takes chances on these guys.”

This season marked the 18th straight that at least one undrafted free agent — kicker Quinn Nordin was this year’s entry — has made the Patriots initial 53-man roster coming out of training camp.

Many of these players who weren’t drafted weren’t even invited to the NFL’s Scouting Combine. So it says something about the Patriots being able to identify under-the-radar prospects.

Of course, the Patriots also have their share of players from the usual college super powers, be it Alabama, Michigan or LSU.

Dont’a Hightower leads a healthy Crimson Tide contingent (Damien Harris, Mac Jones, Christian Barmore). Chase Winovich, Josh Uche and Michael Onwenu are the Michigan alums.

The draft rejects, meanwhile, come from big and small schools, be it Andrews from Georgia and Jackson from Maryland, or Meyers from North Carolina State and Olszewski from Bemidji State.

The undrafteds, however, have one thing in common – a sizable chip on their shoulder from not being selected.

“That’s the most important point right there,” said Harrison. “When you get an undrafted free agent, you get a guy who’s hungry, that’s willing to listen and does whatever you need him to do. They’re very coachable because they want to learn, they want to be out there, they want to get those opportunities and they want to prove to all the teams that passed on them that they should have been picked.”

Earlier in the week, Belichick was asked about his prowess identifying the better undrafted players. He said it was more a matter of looking for players who would be the best fits in his system on both sides of the ball.

“You look at the players that are left and try to identify the players that you think would fit the best for you based on each individual’s situation and circumstances, why they’re available, what opportunity you would have for them, and how well you think they would do with that opportunity,” he said. “Obviously, I think character traits are an important part of it: work ethic, competitiveness. Somebody that comes in that position, like a Jon Jones, J.C. Jackson, Jakobi Meyers, guys like that, they know that they’ve got a lot of guys in front of them and are going to have to perform well to be able to beat people out.”

Those character traits have also drawn the Patriots to sign players from other teams who were undrafted. Adrian Phillips, Kendrick Bourne, and Wilkerson were signed by other teams as undrafted players. Both Phillips and Bourne have certainly been impactful players.

In-house, it just comes down to the Patriots doing a good job developing their undrafted players, and in some cases, having a few game changers in the mix.

Before Jackson, Malcolm Butler was another great find at cornerback and perhaps Belichick’s best undrafted catch.

“We give players that opportunity and, hopefully, players that are in that situation and agents that are in that situation recognize that if their player comes in and performs well, that we’re going to give that player a chance and aren’t afraid to put them on the roster, based on the way he performs, not based on draft status, height, or something else,” said Belichick. “Certainly, that willingness for those guys to come in and grind every day, start at the bottom, do the dirty jobs, work their way up, earn the trust, which everybody has to do.

“It doesn’t matter whether they’re a draft choice, not a draft choice, a veteran, whatever,” he went on. “Everybody has to do that, but I think those guys know they’ve got a little further to go. Having that mentality is a big part of it.”

The Patriots aren’t alone at having success with undrafted free agents, and enhancing their roster. Plenty of other NFL teams have also done a good job identifying talent outside of the draft.

Kurt Warner (Rams), Tony Romo (Cowboys), Warren Moon (Titans), Antonio Gates (Chargers), James Harrison (Steelers), Jeff Saturday (Colts) and Justin Tucker (Ravens) all come under the undrafted classification.

ESPN analyst and former Patriot Damien Woody considers it a feather in Belichick’s cap.

“Maybe you whiffed on a second-round pick, but you were still able to identify free agent talent that’s come in, and outplayed the high draft pick. That says something,” said Woody. “I mean to me, the draft is a crapshoot anyway. The fact you’re able to find these free agent guys, kudos to the scouting staff and coaching staff for developing those guys into impact players.”

Wilson flips script

Zach Wilson’s play has picked up considerably from being the mistake-prone, confused rookie the Patriots saw in Weeks 2 and 7.

It’ll be interesting to see how much of a fight Wilson and Jets put up against the Bills, with obvious implications for the Patriots. In recent weeks, there’s no question Wilson has picked it up.

He went toe-to-toe with Tom Brady last week, nearly pulling off the upset.

“For a good portion of that game, (Zach Wilson) was the better quarterback,” said Woody. “I’d say over the last six, seven weeks, he’s flipped it. He’s totally flipped it,” said Woody.”He’s taking care of the football. You’re starting to see why he was drafted No. 2.”

Wilson has made 12 starts this season. In his first five games, he threw nine picks. In his last seven, that number has shrunk to two.

“He’s a good athlete, he’s got a big strong arm, and he’s just making plays. He’s out there throwing dimes, making things happen,” said Woody. “If you’re the Jets, you’re feeling damn good with where he is, and all the assets they have in the draft. They have a bunch of draft picks, and salary cap space, they can flip this thing quick if they do it right.”

The Tua Chronicles

Tua Tagovailoa, who is next up on the Patriots dance card in the season finale, has been good at times, but not especially great at the helm of the Dolphins this season.

On Wednesday, he was asked about possibly being traded in the offseason, or at the very least, having to deal with more trade talks being waged.

“I’m not worried about that,” he said during his weekly session with the media. “If it comes up, it comes up. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”

Tagovailoa’s second season was somewhat of a mixed bag, but he came up incredibly short last week against the Titans in a game the Dolphins needed to have.

“Obviously, it didn’t go the way I wanted it to go,” Tagovailoa said of his second season in the NFL. “It didn’t go the way that our team wanted it to go. It’s tough when you have an opportunity and you don’t capitalize on that opportunity.”

Best-laid plans

During his weekly session with the media Thursday, Russell Wilson tried to squash rumors about possibly playing his last game with the Seahawks.

And yet, he still left the door open ajar for an exit.

“What I’m really super passionate about, obviously my goal is to win more Super Bowls,’’ Wilson said. “And my plan is to win them here. It’s that simple. There’s really nothing else out there other than that.’’

Plans often change. It’s that simple, too. So he left himself an out just in case it ultimately goes in that direction.

Wilson is currently under contract for two more years with the Seahawks on a four-year, $140 million deal he signed in the spring of 2019. At that time, it made him the highest paid player in the league.

He has a no-trade clause, and can essentially pick his spot if the Seahawks opt to trade him.

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NFL Notes: Does Bill Belichick’s eye for undrafted players make up for poor drafts? - Boston Herald
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