Complete history of Patriots’ top-five picks in NFL Draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
An entire generation of New England Patriots fans will experience the excitement of their team making a top-five pick for the first time in April.
The Patriots own the No. 3 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, and assuming they don’t trade it, that pick will be their first in the top five since 1994.
The Patriots didn’t have many good teams in the four decades that preceded Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady’s arrival in 2000, and yet the franchise made just eight top-five picks in the common draft era (1967 to the present).
Despite a lack of top-five selections over that span, the Patriots still did well on several of these picks and even got a couple Hall of Fame players.
Here’s a recap of every top-five Patriots draft pick from the common draft era.
1994, 4th pick: Willie McGinest, LB, USC
This pick is one of the best in Patriots history. McGinest played a key role on three Super Bowl-winning teams (2001, 2003, 2004) for the Patriots as an excellent pass rusher. His 16 playoff sacks is still a league record. McGinest played in New England from 1994 through 2005, before retiring after the 2008 season. He was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2015.
His most iconic Patriots moment came in Week 13 of the 2003 season in a last-second goal-line stand to beat Peyton Manning and the Colts. It’s one of the greatest regular season games in team history.
1993, 1st pick: Drew Bledsoe, QB, Washington State
Bledsoe helped the Patriots transform into a respectable franchise after it won just nine games in the three previous seasons combined. He helped lead the Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI in 1996, where they lost to Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.
Bledsoe eventually lost his starting job to Tom Brady after suffering a chest injury against the New York Jets in Week 2 of the 2001 season. Although he never won a Super Bowl as the starting QB in New England, his…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/complete-history-patriots-top-five-232108593.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-02-26 23:25:24
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