CHFF: Patriots are the best drafters of the last decade
When I came across this article it was a little surprising to me because the Cold Hard Football Facts website have not always been the unrepentant hoodie heads that I am. Especially when they summed up the Pats 2011 draft as such:
Six of seven picks went to shore up an offense that led the NFL in scoring last year, while the struggling defense was largely ignored. Grade: C-
However when they go back and look at the full body of work over the last decade you get commentary like this:
Who drafted the most stars, the most longtime starters, the most promising young players? Who had the most players from their drafts active in the league last year? Who was the best?
When it was all said and done, there was an easy and not-so-surprising answer: the New England Patriots. They had the second-most Pro Bowlers, 11, trailing only San Diego (12). They had the most players with a career “Approximate Value” of 50+ as determined by Pro Football Reference’s formula that takes into account position, playing time, team success and production (read more about it here). They had the second-most players with career AV of 20 or better. They were tied for third in terms of draftees still active in the league in 2010. And they did it despite having the best record in the league over that decade, which means having the least amount of actual draft power. It’s pretty remarkable feat, and the reason that guys like Mel Kiper and Peter King couched their criticisms of the Patriots’ 2011 draft by adding “but it’s the Patriots, so it’ll probably work out OK.”
New England (A) Pro Bowlers: 11 (2nd) Draftees Active in 2010: 46 (t-3rd) Players with 50+ Career AV: 7 (1st) Players with 20+ Career AV: 22 (t-1st) Best Pick: CB Asante Samuel (4th round, 2003) Worst Pick: WR Chad Jackson (2nd round, 2006) Summary: The Patriots got at least one impact player in each of their 10 drafts from 2001-2010, and maybe the biggest tribute to their ability to identify top talent is that all 10 of their No. 1 picks were still playing in the league last year along with 11 of their 14 No. 2s. This bodes well for 2011 draftees Nate Solder, Ras-I Dowling and Shane Vereen.