The New England Patriots' head-scratching draft picks
The New England Patriots made a few unusual selections in the 2022 NFL Draft, leaving fans and the sports world alike scratching their heads.
It's no secret that Bill Belichick and the Patriots have been doing things their own unique way for decades, and that was on full display over the weekend when New England traded down from No. 21 to No. 29 to select former Chattanooga offensive lineman Cole Strange, an unlikely first-round pick.
Despite the immediate confusion that ensued, Belichick said he might have taken Strange as high as 21st had the team not traded down.
There was a 93% chance that Strange, a former 2-star recruit, would have been available for the Patriots' No. 54 overall pick, per ESPN's NFL Draft Predictor.
Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay even laughed at the Patriots' pick, although he later said that the reaction was misunderstood.
Strange (6-foot-5, 307 pounds) was a five-year starter at Chattanooga, leading an offensive line that paved the way for 205.5 rushing yards per game. He allowed only one sack since 2018 and just 13 total pressures in his career with the Mocs.
Strange appeared in 11 games last season (nine at left guard and two at left tackle).
The Patriots went on to use their only second-round pick on wide receiver Tyquan Thornton out of Baylor at No. 50. Thornton was viewed as a reach by at least a round, further supporting the longtime notion that Belichick struggles to draft receivers.
It seemed like an unnecessary addition to an already crowded wide receiver room, which includes veteran Devante Parker (acquired via Miami in the offseason) Ty Montgomery (signed in free agency), Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, Nelson Agholor and N'Keal Harry, among others.
Thornton caught 62 passes for 948 yards and 10 touchdowns last season at Baylor after a lackluster 2020 campaign that was interrupted by hamstring and shoulder injuries.
The 6-foot-2, 181-pounder is one of the lightest receivers in this year’s class and owns some of the smallest hands (8 1/4″). His 7.25-second time in the 3-cone at the NFL Scouting Combine is the slowest recorded by any Patriots receiver drafted under Belichick.
On the other side, he clocked a 4.28 in the 40-yard dash, the fourth-fastest time by a wide receiver at the NFL Scouting Combine since 2006.
The fourth round was where things got dicey.
New England picked up former Arizona State cornerback Jack Jones — another player taken a round higher than expected — at No. 121 overall before selecting Western Kentucky QB Bailey Zappe at No. 137 overall.
Jones, 24, started his career at USC for two seasons before taking a one-year sabbatical at Moorpark College and eventually joining the Sun Devils in 2019. He went on to appear in 25 games (nine starts) over the next three seasons, recording six interceptions and 19 pass deflections over that span.
The 6-foot, 215-pound Zappe is undoubtedly talented, throwing for 5,967 yards and 62 touchdowns to set FBS single-season records in 2021 on his way to being named Conference USA’s MVP. Still, he is arguably the Patriots' most surprising pick considering they drafted QB Mac Jones with their first-round pick last year.
On Monday, the "First Things First" crew shared their thoughts on the Zappe pick, in particular.
"In Bill Belichick's tenure with Tom Brady, he drafted 10 quarterbacks: fourth round, sixth round, seventh round, third round," Kevin Wildes said. "Jimmy [Garoppolo] very early. This is normal, standard operating procedure for the Patriot way.
"You can never have too much talent on the team or in the quarterback room. You never know when you're gonna need a guy. … I don't think it's bad to have Mac Jones have a little competition. … I think that is OK."
On the other side, Nick Wright wasn't having it.
"The Patriots stink at drafting. A team that has holes all over the place just used a fourth-round pick on Bailey Zappe to be their backup QB. … It's just bad."
The only question that remains is, can Jones avoid being Zapped?