Bill Belichick's Worst Draft in His History with the New England Patriots

After Laurence Maroney was traded to the Denver Broncos along with a sixth-round pick for a fourth rounder, the Patriots 2006 draft class took its place as Bill Belichick’s worst draft with the New England Patriots.

The only player who still plays for the Patriots is the kicker, Stephen Gostowski. While he is a high-level kicker who delivers in the clutch, a draft class which only delivered a franchise kicker cannot be considered a success.

Laurence Maroney showed promise early on, but was injury-prone and unable to hit holes with conviction. Further, he fumbled much too often.

Chad Jackson was a complete bust. He was an average return man, but as a wide receiver he was painfully useless. He could not run routes and dropped many catchable passes. In his three years of NFL play, Jackson caught a total of 14 passes for 171 yards.

The defensive players selected (Willie Andrews, Le Kevin Smith, and Jeremy Mincey) all struggled as well. The three have combined for 53 career tackles, three sacks, and one pass defended.

David Thomas was actually a decent player, and managed 35 receptions for over 350 yards last season in New Orleans.

Fundamentally, it is obvious that the 2006 draft class was a not good. There were no impact players drafted, and the only remaining player is the kicker.

Note: I was unable to add the diagram found with the original article. For the full read, go to New England Sports Online