Image courtesy of New England Patriots
Ok. Let’s get away from the current draft for a minute or two.
It’s all been talked to death and we’ll finally know the future of the franchise in just over 24 hours. In the mean time, it is pretty crazy to sit back and think about how long this fan base got to go without having to worry about screwing up a Top 3 or even Top 10 pick.
This will be the first Top-10 selection – if they use it – for the Patriots since 2001 and only the fourth time in the last 30 years.
The Patriots PR staff had a great packet of draft info available when Eliot Wolf spoke last week and looking through it, there’s a full list of every first round choice the franchise has ever made.
This is a list of who I think are the best and worst first round picks the last 30 years. Worst doesn’t necessarily mean ‘ bust’ here, but for the sake of the list, it’s gotta be one or the other, there’s a high standard when it comes to first rounders.
Ideally, your first rounders are here for the long haul and a lot of these guys flashed but ultimately had to leave for one reason or another. Some had off field issues, One in particular was extremely unlucky with injuries. A few others were just total letdowns from the start. A couple are still proving themselves and there’s some big names here that were key reasons the team was so good for so long.
The Pats did not have first round picks in 2009, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2020.
Best
1994 – Willie McGinest
1995 – Ty Law
1996 – Terry Glenn
1998 – Tebucky Jones
1999 – Damien Woody
2001 – Richard Seymour
2003 – Ty Warren
2002 – Daniel Graham
2004 – Ben Watson
2004 – Vince Wilfork
2005 – Logan Mankins
2008 – Jerod Mayo
2010 – Devin McCourty
2011 – Nate Solder
2012 – Dont’a Hightower
2023 – Christian Gonzalez
Worst
1997 – Chris Canty
1998 – Robert Edwards
1999 – Andy Katzenmoyer
2006 – Laurence Maroney
2007 – Brandon Meriweather
2012 – Chandler Jones
2014 – Dominique Easley
2015 – Malcom Brown
2018 – Sony Michel
2018 – Isaiah Wynn
2019 – N’Keal Harry
2021 – Mac Jones
2022 – Cole Strange