NFL Draft: New England Patriots Rank Ninth in Recent Draft Study

In a recent study conducted by Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea to determine who is the "best drafting team" in the NFL, it's been revealed that the New England Patriots rank 9th. 

The study has been based on the last five drafts, and it consists on how many draft picks a team has had, how many draft picks are still on the roster, how many draft picks were stars or draft busts and where in the draft that the team selected from. 

During that time period (2006-2010), Bill Belichick and company have had 51 draft picks—which is by far the most by any team. 

With those 51 picks, 23 players are still on the Patriots' roster with seven of them being starters. Out of those 51 draft picks, Maiocco determines that the "best pick" was safety Brandon Meriweather and that the "worst pick" was running back Laurence Maroney.

Maiocco then went onto give this description:

"The Patriots stockpiled picks, and they've generally hit on their early selections. But they haven't had a whole lot of success mining for contributors in the later rounds. Only once during this time did they have top-20 pick, and they nailed it with the selection of Pro Bowl linebacker Jerod Mayo at No. 10 in 2008. Only two of their 19 picks from 2006 and '07 remain on the team: Two-time Pro Bowl safety Brandon Meriweather and kicker Stephen Gostowski, who finished last season on injured reserve. Rookie cornerback Devin McCourty was selected to the Pro Bowl after recording seven interceptions. Tight end Rob Gronkowski had 10 TD receptions as a rookie. Their biggest bust was Maroney. Selected No. 21 overall in 2006, Maroney was traded last year to Denver, along with a sixth-round pick, for a fourth-round selection."

Right off the bat, I have to disagree with Maiocco in which that Meriweather was New England's "best pick." Honestly, I am now questioning this guy's credibility. 

Has Maiocco ever seen Meriweather play? I'm assuming not. 

Yes, Meriweather is a two-time Pro Bowler, but he was only invited because of other safeties not attending due to injury. So, right off of the bat, that discredits Meriweather of any Pro Bowl worthy seasons. 

If you take a look at Meriweather's stats, they're decent, but not great. During his four-year career, the most tackles he's ever recorded was 61 in 2008—nothing special.

In fact, Meriweather's play has been so poor and inconsistent, he was benched several times in 2010 and his playing time was cut tremendously. 

Has Maiocco ever heard of linebacker Jerod Mayo? He's by far ten times better than Meriweather. 

The Patriots have "stockpiled picks" which means more "misses" and "busts" out of those picks simply because they've drafted so many players. 

The 2010 draft class, which included tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez along with defensive players Devin McCourty and Bradon Spikes, was Belichick's best draft class. 

New England enters the 2011 with nine draft picks, six being in the top 92. 

The Patriots are a great drafting team as they build for the future while still staying competitive.

Belichick's biggest strength is determining the "quality drop offs" from each draft pick. If he feels he can get the same quality of a player a few picks from his current position, he will trade pick while adding a few picks along the way.  

I strongly disagree with this "study" that Maiocco has conducted—the Patriots are much better than ninth overall.

NOTE: This article was first seen at PatriotsPlus.net. Be sure to follow Tony Santorsa on Twitter @    TonySantorsa.