Jonathan Comey of the New Bedford (Mass.) Standard Times pens a thought-provoking piece today that is titled "Pats are still kings of the draft."
Comey answers critics who have called the Patriots' recent draft performance subpar. He looks at the drafts from 2007-2009 and breaks them down, concluding that New England is still operating at a high level.
Here is a snippet from Comey's piece:
"I spent many hours in the dungeon of history trying to track everything the Pats have done since 2007, and the findings reinforced my belief that there's been no falloff in the Pats' front office.
Let's start with the most basic of basics.
Each year, every team has one draft selection in each of seven rounds, with the better finishers picking at the bottom of each round.
In other words, the Patriots are inherently at a disadvantage thanks to their success -- over the decade, they have less standard draft power than any other team."
Comey makes you think.
One aspect I liked in his piece is how he factored in the trades for Wes Welker and Randy Moss as part of the 2007 draft. While those players aren't draft picks, they were acquired with 2007 draft picks, and it is my opinion that they should be part of the consideration when evaluating the 2007 draft.
When I look at the drafts from 2006-2008, I still see missed opportunities for the Patriots when it comes to drafting and developing talent. But Comey offers a fair counterpoint when assessing 2007-2009.