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The New England Patriots surprised a lot of football fans in 2021. They won 10 games and made it back to the playoffs. After Tom Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a year prior, the Patriots had their worst season since before Brady joined the team.
It was thought that the organization was finally going into the tank. Cam Newton was mostly a disaster at quarterback. But one thing that was overlooked was how many players opted out that season due to COVID-19. The defense was back at full strength in 2021, and was one of the best units in all of football.
However, the organization was obviously still in need of a replacement for Brady. They were the fifth team to draft a quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft. Albeit, it was still the 15th overall pick and was the first time five QB's went that early.
Jones had an outstanding rookie season. He almost broke the record for rookie completion percentage, completing 67.6 percent of his passes. He threw 22 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. Jones far exceeded expectations. What makes it that much more impressive is that New England might have featured the worst group of wide receivers in the NFL.
New England Patriots' Biggest Need
New England desperately needs a deep threat at wide receiver. The team has Jacobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor as its top three wideouts. All three have individual talents. Meyers has good route running and strong hands. Bourne can stretch the field occasionally and Agholor has been a possession receiver for years.
But there's too much inconsistency and lack of big-play upside from this group. Meyers, the team's best wide receiver, is a restricted free agent. So, it remains up in the air if he will even return next season.
N'Keal Harry has been an absolute nightmare for Patriots fans ever since he was drafted.
I'm going to have N'Keal Harry PTSD for the rest of my life.
— scott pianowski (@scott_pianowski) January 31, 2022
Head coach Bill Belichick drafted Harry in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Arizona State. He showed a ton of promise in college, but has yet to make an impact at the next level.
As great as Belichick is at almost every facet of football, the one knock most people point to is his drafting. Belichick has a propensity for missing on wide receivers in the draft.
That's particularly true for drafting wide receivers. Back in 2013, Belichick drafted wide receiver Aaron Dobson in the 2nd round. That was a major bust. He also missed badly on WR Bethel Johnson in the second round back in '03, as well as Taylor Price in the third round in 2010. But the worst was when he traded a second and third round pick to draft WR Chad Jackson in the second round of the 2006 draft.
Reportedly Belichick has taken a step back the past year or two in terms of drafting, allowing upper management to have more input.
Given his the team's biggest need and his past drafting of the position, it would be wise for that continue to happen.
