Patriots Win Through Draft
Now that Super Bowl XLVI is over, NFL fans all over the country will be turning their attention to the NFL draft in April. One team that has been terrific over the last 15 years has been the New England Patriots. Between 1997 and 2012, the Patriots have won six AFC championships and three Super Bowls but one of the most impressive things about the organization is that most of the star players of those teams were acquired through the draft.
Going into the 1993 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots were the worst team in the NFL and therefore had the first selection. With the first pick in that draft the Patriots selected quarterback Drew Bledsoe out of Washington State. In the eighth round of that draft they selected wide receiver Troy Brown. Two years later in 1995, the Patriots selected cornerback Ty Law in the first round and running back Curtis Martin in the third round. In 1996 they selected linebacker Tedy Bruschi in the third round. These five players that were selected by the Patriots in three of four drafts became the cornerstone of the 1996 New England Patriots that won the AFC championship before falling to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI. This would be the only Super Bowl that this group of Patriots would play in but it would set a precedent in how the Patriots would build a dynasty.
With Troy Brown and Tedy Bruschi as key members of the team, between 2000 and 2003, the Patriots drafted players that would be key members of three Super Bowls in four years. The most famous of these picks was in 2000 when the Patriots selected quarterback Tom Brady out of Michigan in the sixth round with the 199th pick of the draft. In 2001, the Patriots selected defensive end Richard Seymour with the sixth overall pick. In 2002, the Patriots selected wide receiver Deion Branch in the second round to play alongside Troy Brown. In 2003 they selected Asante Samuel in the fourth round and Tully Banta-Cain in the seventh round. These players all became key players in at least one of three different Super Bowl victories by the Patriots between 2001 and 2004.
With Brady, Bruschi, Samuel, and Seymour already key parts of the team, the Patriots won the AFC championship in 2007 and went into Super Bowl XLII with an 18-0 record. Again, the Patriots used the draft to bring in key players to help make that run. In the first round of the 2004 draft, the Patriots selected tight end Ben Watson and in 2006, they selected running back Laurence Maroney. While the Patriots also brought in key free agents such as Randy Moss and Wes Welker, most of the key players were still draft picks.
This past season the Patriots won their fifth AFC championship in 11 years. They lost key players to retirement and free agency such as Tedy Bruschi, Asante Samuel, Richard Seymour, and Laurence Mulroney. However, the Patriots used the 2009 and 2010 drafts to retool and set up another run to a Super Bowl. In 2009, the Patriots selected safety Patrick Chung in the second round. In 2010 they selected tight end Rob Gronkowski and linebacker Brandon Spikes in the second round. In the fourth round of that draft, they selected Aaron Hernandez. Along with Brady and Branch, Chung, Gronkowski, Hernandez, and Spikes were all key figures in the Patriots run to Super Bowl XLVI.
In no league is the draft more important than the NFL and as we look forward to the 2012 NFL Draft, the Patriots give a clear view of what smart selections can do for a franchise. Since 1997 the Patriots have participated in six Super Bowls winning three and it was players selected in the draft that got them there.
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