After two consecutive drafts without first-round picks, the New England Patriots entered the 2018 NFL Draft with two picks within the top 32.
By virtue of the Brandin Cooks trade with the Los Angeles Rams, the Patriots owned the 23rd pick in addition to the 31st pick. It marked the first time since 2012 that Bill Belichick and Co. would have the luxury of selecting two players in the first... if they wanted to.
And after having just four picks the previous year, the Patriots were armed with nine selections. However, the distribution of the picks was interesting. Three fell in the top 56 while their other six picks came at the 143 mark or later.
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The Patriots had two goals in this draft. First and foremost, they needed to hit on those first-round picks. They didn't necessarily have to hit home runs with each of them, but landing contributors was a must.
New England was able to achieve their first goal, but their second goal of landing some talented Day 3 picks to upgrade their roster depth would prove to be a bit more challenging. Still, they navigated the later rounds well enough and found a couple of contributors that stuck around long term or were offloaded for other assets.
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Here's a look back at how the Patriots fared in the '18 draft and some retrospective grades for their nine-pick haul.
Patriots 2018 NFL Draft re-grades
Round 1, Pick 23: OT Isaiah Wynn
Though Wynn drew attention for his smaller stature ahead of the 2018 NFL Draft (6-foot-2, 310 pounds), the Patriots drafted him to play the tackle position instead of kicking him inside to guard. That move has panned out.
When he has been on the field, Wynn has been a capable starter at the left tackle spot. He has allowed just five sacks and committed five penalties over the course of his career while performing very well as a run blocker and in pass protection. Just 25 years old now, he still has a chance to improve and become an upper-echelon tackle.
However, the problem with Wynn is that he hasn't been able to stay healthy at all during his time in New England. He has played in just 18 games of a possible 48 in the regular season for the team and has been on the IR in each of his three NFL seasons. As such, Wynn will be penalized for his inability to stay on the field.
But if he can stay healthy in 2021, we could be talking about Wynn being due for a big extension during the 2022 offseason.
Grade: C+
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Round 1, Pick 31: RB Sony Michel
After taking Wynn with their first pick, the Patriots continued to build their offense with another Georgia product in Michel.
Early on, it looked like Michel would be a potential star running back. He ran for 931 yards on a 4.5 yards per carry average as a rookie and then really came on during the postseason. During the Patriots' Super Bowl run in 2019, Michel ran for 336 yards and a whopping six touchdowns. And in the Super Bowl, he ran for 94 yards and the game's lone touchdown on 18 carries.
Since then, Michel has tailed off a bit as he has struggled with nagging foot and knee injuries. He only played in nine games last year and saw just 79 carries playing behind Damien Harris for the most part. However, he did average a career-high 5.7 yards per carry. Perhaps if he can stay fully healthy, he could regain his rookie-year form.
Michel hasn't been perfect, and the selection is marred by the fact that his college teammate Nick Chubb, taken four selections after him, has been better at the NFL level.
Still, it can't be denied that Michel was important to the Patriots' offense in '18. That playoff run gives him a boost along with the fact that he still has some upside. As is the case with Wynn, Michel just has to stay healthy to bump this grade up.
Grade: B-
Round 2, Pick 56: DB Duke Dawson
Dawson marked the third consecutive pick that the Patriots made out of the SEC. Unlike the other two selections for the Patriots, Dawson didn't find a role with the team.
As a rookie, Dawson suffered a hamstring injury before the start of the 2018 season. As a result, he was placed on IR but was later designated to return. Despite returning, he was placed on the inactive list by the Patriots in every game for the rest of the season. It led many to wonder why the Patriots had brought him back in the first place.
Before the 2019 season began, the Patriots had seen enough from Dawson and sent him to the Denver Broncos along with a seventh-round pick in exchange for a sixth-round selection. Dawson has played in 26 games with the Broncos and has 27 tackles and two pass defenses. He has largely been a slot backup.
Needless to say, Dawson was a waste of a second-round pick. He rapidly fell out of favor in New England, played zero regular-season snaps for them, and is yet another blemish on Bill Belichick's second-round resume.
Grade: F
Round 5, Pick 143: LB Ja'Whaun Bentley
After the Dawson selection, the Patriots didn't pick against until the fifth round. Bentley ended up being a nice value pick at this juncture.
Bentley saw a lot of action for the Patriots last year with Dont'a Hightower opting out of the season and Kyle Van Noy joining the Miami Dolphins for a year. He finished with a career-high 91 tackles, which ranked second on the team behind only Adrian Phillips. Bentley looked like a key downhill playmaker at the position and was especially strong against the run.
While Bentley doesn't do a lot in coverage because of his marginal athletic ability, he can still be a solid role player for the Patriots. He can start in a pinch but will be better off as a rotational run stopper, which is what he figures to be in 2021 behind Hightower and Van Noy.
Landing a top backup and spot starter in the fifth round is never a bad thing. Bentley certainly fits the Patriots system well and should continue to be a key depth player for the duration of his contract.
Grade: B+
Round 6, Pick 178: LB Christian Sam
Sam didn't do much during his Patriots career. He stayed with the team in 2018 on IR but failed to make the team in 2019. From there, he bounced around to the Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, and Detroit Lions, but he has never made it onto a 53-man roster.
You can't penalize a team too much for late-round picks that don't produce. Sam certainly wasn't a great selection, but it's not like there were a lot of other productive options that the Patriots missed out on by taking Sam. So, this isn't a failing grade, but it will get a low-level mark.
Grade: D
Round 6, Pick 210: WR Braxton Berrios
Berrios looked like he was en route to making the Patriots roster in 2019 after spending the 2018 season on IR. However, the Patriots decided to keep Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski as undrafted free agents in '19 and attempted to sneak Berrios to the practice squad.
That didn't work out. The New York Jets claimed Berrios off waivers and used him as a punt return and backup receiver. Berrios has averaged 10.5 yards per punt return on 31 returns during two years with the Jets, and last year, he posted 37 catches for 394 yards and three scores.
Berrios looks like a nice backup slot receiver and a special teams producer. He was a nice value for the Patriots, but they didn't capitalize on it by keeping him. As such, the pick will be downgraded slightly -- especially since he landed with the Jets -- but Berrios is certainly a player that the Patriots could've used amid their receiver issues last year and again.
Grade: B-
Round 7, Pick 219: QB Danny Etling
For most of the '18 draft, people were wondering when the Patriots would select a quarterback. After all, they had traded both Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett before and during the '17 season. And heading into the draft, all they had behind Tom Brady was Brian Hoyer.
Per usual, Belichick defied expectations and waited to take a quarterback until the seventh round. That's when he took a flier on Etling.
Etling wasn't considered to be a great thrower, but he had mobility and notched an 86-yard touchdown run during his rookie preseason. Before his second season, however, the Patriots moved Etling to wide receiver because of his athletic ability. That didn't work out for the Patriots and Etling was waived.
Since then, Etling has spent time as a third-string quarterback with the Atlanta Falcons and now, he's with the Seattle Seahawks. The fact that he has staying power speaks to the importance of mobile quarterbacks in the current NFL, but this was nothing more than an average pick.
Grade: C-
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Round 7, Pick 243: CB Keion Crossen
Crossen made a name for himself during his rookie season as a quality special teams player. He had trouble getting onto the field because of the Patriots' glut of talent at cornerback though.
Because of that, Crossen was traded to the Houston Texans before the 2019 season. The return netted the Patriots a sixth-round pick, more than the seventh-rounder they had spent on Crossen.
While Crossen has developed into a solid backup defensive back and posted a career-high 46 tackles and five pass defenses last year, the Patriots did well to get that type of value for him in a trade. They deserve a high mark for the Crossen pick considering he was the 13th-to-last player selected in the draft.
Grade: B
Round 7, Pick 250: TE Ryan Izzo
Izzo wasn't as successful as Crossen. He played in 18 games over three years with the Patriots and caught 19 passes for 313 yards and a touchdown. He was a fine depth player, but he was forced into a bigger role because of the team's lacking talent at tight end.
Like Crossen, Izzo was also traded to the Texans, only Izzo was traded just this offseason. He wasn't all that impressive with the Patriots but considering that he was the sixth-to-last player selected in this draft, he was fine considering the low-bar expectations set for him.
Grade: C