How Bill Belichick’s 1st-round Patriots draft picks have fared in the NFL
Belichick has made 21 first-round selections over his 23 years in charge in New England.
On Thursday, Bill Belichick will take on his 24th NFL Draft as head coach and de facto head of personnel of the New England Patriots.
During his time in charge, Belichick has made 21 first-round selections, and this year’s No. 14 pick is his highest since 2008.
While he’s struck gold with late-round selections like Tom Brady, Belichick holds an up-and-down track record with first-rounders. Three of his last six first-round picks, for example, are no longer with the team.
While nobody knows for certain who Belichick will take in this year’s draft, we can look at his past selections to get an idea of how it might go, beginning in 2000.
2000s
2000: No first rounder, Adrian Klemm taken at No. 46
- In his first year as Patriots head coach, Belichick was required to forfeit his first round pick to the Jets after abandoning the franchise just one day into his gig as head coach. With his first selection, Belichick took Adrian Klemm, who played in just 42 games across five NFL seasons but has now returned to the franchise as offensive line coach.
2001: No. 6, Richard Symour, DE, Georgia
- As of right now, Seymour is the only Patriots player picked by Belichick to be named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The defensive lineman spent eight of his 12 NFL seasons with New England, earning three First-Team All-Pro selections in his time there. In 2003 he finished second in DPOY voting after swatting 10 passes and making 56 tackles, including eight sacks.
2002: No. 21, Daniel Graham, TE Colorado
- Graham was a member of the back-to-back Super Bowl winning teams in 2003 and 2004 but didn’t provide a whole lot to the Patriots as a receiving threat during his time there. Across four postseasons he caught 13 passes for 143 yards and one touchdown. His five regular seasons with New England resulted in a total of 120 catches, 1,393 yards, and 17 touchdowns.
2003: No. 13, Ty Warren, DE Texas A&M
- In his career, Warren started in 92 games for Belichick, playing in 105 total. His production varied throughout his career but from 2005-2007 he totaled 12 sacks, 205 tackles, and 21 tackles for loss. His career was cut short at the age of 29 after suffering a hip injury during training camp in 2010.
2004: No. 21, Vince Wilfork, DT Miami; No. 32, Ben Watson, TE Georgia
- In September, Wilfork was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame. The defensive tackle won two Super Bowls during his time with New England, including in 2004 when he started in the game as a rookie. Over his 11 years with Belichick, Wilfork made 517 tackles and was named to four All-Pro teams.
- In his storied 15-year career, Watson caught 547 passes, including 44 for touchdowns. He played in 14 postseason games in total, including 10 for the Patriots, winning the Super Bowl with the team as a rookie.
2005: No. 32, Logan Mankins, G Fresno State
- In 2020 Mankins was one of four guards picked to the NFL’s All-2010s team despite retiring after the 2015 season. In his 11 years in the league, nine of which were with the Patriots, the former Bulldog made seven All-Pro teams and was named runner-up for the 2005 OROY award.
2006: No. 21, Laurence Maroney, RB Minnesota
- Maroney had three healthy seasons during his four years in New England. During those three years he gained 2,746 scrimmage yards and scored 22 total touchdowns. In 2010 he played his final season in the NFL, rushing for 74 yards in four games for Denver before being released. In his career he missed 16 games due to injury.
2007: No. 24, Brandon Meriweather, DB Miami
- In 2006 the Patriots traded receiver Deion Branch to the Seahawks for what became the No. 24 pick in the 2007 draft. With the selection, Belichick took Meriweather, the controversial and hard-hitting safety. While he didn’t get much playing time as a rookie, Meriweather started in 40 games for New England from 2008 to 2010, picking off 12 passes, forcing four fumbles, and earning two Pro Bowl nods. In September 2011, right before the season started, Belichick opted to cut the 27-year-old.
2008: No. 10, Jerod Mayo, LB Tennessee
- Mayo burst out of the gates as a rookie, earning DROY honors after making 128 total tackles from the middle linebacker spot. His best year came in 2010 when he led the league with 174 tackles, including five for loss, and was named First-Team All-Pro. In 2013 and 2014 Mayo played a combined 12 games as injuries slowed him down, and after the 2015 season he announced his retirement. He now serves as a defensive assistant for the Patriots.
2009: In 2009 the Patriots traded back twice, at first with the Ravens, who selected Michael Oher at No. 23 and then swapped that Ravens pick with the Packers, who took Clay Mathews at No. 26. The Patriots eventually ended up with four second-round picks and two third-rounders. The first of their selections was at No. 34 where they traded up for Oregon’s Patrick Chung. The safety would go on to play 141 games over 10 years with Belichick and win three Super Bowls in New England.
2010s
2010: No. 27, Devin McCourty, DB Rutgers
- The younger of the two McCourty brothers, Devin became the most recent Patriot to retire when he announced his decision to leave football in March. The three-time Super Bowl champion earned two Second-Team All-Pro selections during his 13 seasons with New England and missed just five regular season games in his career.
2011: No. 17, Nate Solder, OT Colorado
- Solder won a pair of Super Bowls during his seven years in New England. In total he started in 95 games for the Patriots, 72 of which he spent protecting Tom Brady’s blindside.
2012: No. 21 Chandler Jones, DE Syracuse; No. 25, Dont’a Hightower, LB Alabama
- On draft day in 2012, Belichick traded the No. 27 and No. 93 picks to Cincinnati in order to move up and select Jones. While he only played four years in New England, he made his mark coming off the edge. In 55 games he recorded 36 sacks, 211 tackles, and 10 forced fumbles. After 2015 Jones was traded to the Cardinals for a second-round pick. He racked up 71.5 sacks and 23 forced fumbles over his six seasons in Arizona. He also finished top-three in DPOY voting twice.
- Later in the same draft, the Patriots traded up again, this time moving the No. 31 and No. 126 picks to the Broncos for No. 25. With the pick, New England went with Hightower, who spent his entire nine-year career in Foxborough. He started all but three games he played in for the team and made 569 total tackles, including 43 for losses.
2013: In this draft, Belichick opted to move back, out of the first round, exchanging the No. 29 pick for picks 52, 83, 102, and 229. With the first-rounder the Vikings went with Cordarelle Patterson, while the Patriots went with Jamie Collins as their first selection in the second round. Collins played three full seasons for New England, earning one Second-Team All-Pro selection before he was traded to Cleveland for a third-round pick. The linebacker then spent the next six years between the Browns, Patriots, Lions, and Patriots again. Collins is now a free agent once again after playing three games for Belichick last season.
2014: No. 29, Dominique Easley, DT Florida
- Easley appeared in just 22 total games for the Patriots, making two starts. In April, 2016, the team waived Easley, and he played in just 19 more games in his NFL career which was constantly hampered by injuries, including multiple torn ACLs.
2015: No. 32, Malcolm Brown, DT Texas
- Brown started in 51 games over his first four seasons with New England but the team declined to pick up his fifth-year option for the 2019 season. Brown went on to play three more seasons in the NFL before being released by the Jaguars in 2022.
2016: In 2016 the Patriots lost their first-round draft pick as a result of the Deflategate scandal. The team’s first selection was cornerback Cyrus Jones at No. 60. Jones played in just 12 games for New England before the team released him. His last game came in 2019 for Baltimore.
2017: The four picks in the 2017 draft are the fewest selections by the Patriots in the Belichick era. The team traded the No. 32 pick to the Saints for Brandin Cooks, who played just one year with the team before they traded him for a 2018 first-round pick.
2018: No. 23, Isaiah Wynn, OT Georgia; No. 31, Sony Michel, RB Georgia
- The pick that Belichick received for Cooks eventually turned into the No. 23 selection, which he used to take Wynn. In his second preseason game, Wynn tore his Achilles and missed the entirety of the 2018 season. From 2019 to 2022 Wynn played in 43 games for the Patriots; he is currently a free agent.
- Holding on to their own first-round selection in the draft, New England opted to go with Michel, who ran for 3,613 yards and 33 touchdowns over his four-year college career. In his first year with the Patriots he proved his worth, rushing for 336 yards and six touchdowns in the 2018 postseason. In 2020, injury issues popped up and he was traded to the Rams for a fourth-rounder and a sixth-rounder after the season.
2019: No. 32, N’Keal Harry, WR Arizona State
- After profiling as a relatively fast, big-bodied receiver in college, the Patriots took Harry with the last pick of the first round. As a member of a stacked receiver class that featured A.J. Brown and DK Metcalf (selected after him), Harry has had a relatively slow start to his NFL career. During his first three seasons, he caught 103 passes for 598 yards with the Patriots. Following 2021, Harry was traded to the Bears for a seventh-round pick. Last season he appeared in just eight games for Chicago, catching seven passes.
2020s
2020: In 2020, the Patriots traded their first-round selection to the Chargers for a second and third. With the No. 23 pick, San Diego took linebacker Kenneth Murray, and with its first selection New England went with Kyle Dugger at No. 37. Since being drafted, Dugger has solidified his spot in the defensive backfield and has recorded seven interceptions, including two for touchdowns, since becoming a full-time starter in 2021.
2021: No. 15, Mac Jones, QB Alabama
- Jones is the only quarterback Belichick has ever taken in the first round of the draft, although it’s possible that changes this year. So far with the Patriots, Jones has had two rather different seasons. In 2021 he appeared to be one of the best quarterbacks in his draft class after finishing second in OROY voting and earning a Pro Bowl selection. Last season, he struggled in a new offensive system and saw his passing numbers decline across the board.
2022: No. 29, Cole Strange, OL Chattanooga
- Strange, the most recent first rounder taken by Belichick, started every game last season for the Patriots and played 94 percent of the offensive snaps. Trading back to get him at No. 29, Belichick grabbed the No. 94 and No. 121 picks as well in exchange for the No. 21 pick.
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