Sports Q: Who was the worst first-round pick in Patriots history?
Debate the answer with Chad Finn and other Boston sports fans at The Sports Q.
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Who is the worst first-round pick in Patriots’ history? N’Keal Harry has to be in the discussion. – Mike M.
Well, it’s certainly not looking good, Mike. I suppose they would have been better off taking DK Metcalf … or A.J. Brown … or Deebo Samuel … or Terry McLaurin. But Harry’s played just 14 games in his career, including the playoffs, and at least he has some obvious physical talent. He’s trending toward a bust, but he’s pretty far from the worst first rounder in Patriots history?
So who is it? I think it depends on how much weight you put on era and draft position.
The argument can be made that Phil Olsen (fourth overall in the 1970, never played for the Patriots), Dennis Byrd (No. 6 overall in ’68, played one season), or Jack Concannon (No. 1 overall in ’64) were the top three worst first-rounders in Patriots history. But that was a different time, with far less information available on prospects than there is today.
Based on draft position, Ken Sims (No. 1 overall in ’82) has to be in the conversation. He was a monster for the University of Texas but lethargic at best as a pro, finishing an eight-year career with just 17 sacks. The Patriots did get their superstar defender later in the draft, though, choosing Hall of Famer Andre Tippett in the second round.
There have been first round busts who got hurt (Hart Lee Dykes ’89, Andy Katzenmoyer ’99, Dominique Easley ’14) and others who just weren’t any good (Chris Singleton ’90, Eugene Chung ’92, Chris Canty ’97, and Easley again).
Singleton, a linebacker chosen eighth in that ’90 draft, played just 41 games for the Patriots over three-plus seasons. His failure to develop was more painful because of what the Patriots could have had in that draft. The Patriots originally had the No. 3 pick, but traded it to the Seahawks along with a second-rounder for a pair of 1990 first-rounders (Nos. 8 and 10) and some other draft scraps.
The Seahawks took future Hall of Famer Cortest Kennedy with the No. 3 pick. The Chargers took the great Junior Seau at No. 5. The Patriots ended up with Singleton and defensive tackle Ray Agnew, taken at No. 10.
The most annoying pick was Canty, who couldn’t cover or tackle. To actually answer the question, though, I’ll go with Sims as the worst pick, just because he was No. 1 overall and clearly had no interest in being great. If you want to go with one of those old timers like Olsen or Byrd, I get it, but I just think the degree of difficulty in hitting on a pick was much greater then.
What does everyone else think? Who was the worst first-round pick in Patriots history? I’ll hear you in the comments.
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