Thornton release highlights Patriots’ awful drafting, lack of elite talent

Thornton release highlights Patriots’ awful drafting, lack of elite talent originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots built a dynasty largely on successful draft picks. Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, Rob Gronkowski, Dont’a Hightower, Devin McCourty, Vince Wilfork and many others were drafted, developed and became key pieces of teams that won the Lombardi Trophy six times in a 18-year span.

The current state of the Patriots can be described by the opposite scenario. New England’s roster is bereft of high-end talent, perhaps more than any other team in the NFL. So it’s not surprising that the Patriots are 3-8 entering Week 12, or that they finished 4-13 at the bottom of the AFC standings last season.

What’s the No. 1 reason for the Patriots’ recent malaise? Bad drafting.

There are multiple ways to build a perennial contender. Trades are important. Free agent signings fill in gaps here and there. But the most effective way to build a roster for long-term success is through the draft, and this is an area where the Patriots have failed mightily in recent years.

The draft class that really hammers home this point is 2022. The Patriots released wide receiver Tyquan Thornton over the weekend. He was a 2022 second-round pick (No. 50 overall) out of Baylor. Injuries and poor performance prevented Thornton from making any kind of impact in two-plus seasons with the team.

Thornton tallied 39 receptions for 385 yards and two touchdowns in 28 career games for the Patriots. The Pittsburgh Steelers took rising star wideout George Pickens two picks after Thornton in 2022. The Indianapolis Colts selected wideout Alec Pierce three picks after Thornton. The Arizona Cardinals took Trey McBride — one of the league’s top up-and-coming tight ends — five picks after Thornton. The Buffalo Bills got starting running back James Cook with the second-to-last pick in that round.

As bad as the Thornton pick was, it might not even be the worst one in that 2022 class for New England. Left guard Cole Strange, who was considered a reach with the No. 29 pick, has barely played due to injuries. The Patriots traded down from No. 21 to get more picks from the Kansas City Chiefs, including No. 29. The Chiefs used that No. 21 pick on cornerback Trent McDuffie, who has played very well for a defense that’s won back-to-back Super Bowl titles.

Only one of the 10 players drafted in 2022 — Marcus Jones — is currently on New England’s active roster. Strange is on injured reserve and hasn’t played yet in 2024. Everyone else is out of the picture, and this draft was just two years ago.

Here’s a further look at the Patriots’ disastrous 2022 draft class.

!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r

The bad draft classes for the Patriots don’t end with 2022, though. They go much further back. In fact, only 18 players from the seven draft classes from 2017 through 2023 are on the Patriots’ active roster or injured reserve as of today. That’s 18 out of 63 total players drafted during that seven-year span.

!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r

How many of these 18 players are true cornerstone-type of players? Christian Gonzalez is one. You could throw Christian Barmore in there, too. Kyle Dugger isn’t on that level but is a very good player, same with Rhamondre Stevenson and Mike Onwenu.

Five really good (or better) players from seven drafts is brutal, especially when the Patriots made 13 picks in the top 60 over that span.

And the Patriots had some real whiffs in that seven-year period, with the 2019 class being all-time bad. New England’s first three picks that year made almost no on-field impact.

• First round: N’Keal Harry, WR

• Second round: Joejuan Williams, CB

• Third round: Chase Winovich, DE

The 2024 draft class likely will end up being a success for the Patriots solely because of Drake Maye. The No. 3 pick has played fantastic as a rookie and legitimately could become a franchise QB in the short term. If that scenario unfolds, the 2024 class will be a massive success regardless of how the other players develop. Getting a top-tier quarterback is the top priority for every team.

But if you exclude Maye, the 2024 class is looking pretty weak. Rookie wideouts Ja’Lynn Polk (second round) and Javon Baker (fourth round) have been huge disappointments. Polk has 11 catches in 10 games, in addition to a bunch of penalties. Baker has barely seen the field so far. It’s still too early to call these players draft busts, but it’s certainly trending in that direction at this point.

If the Patriots are going to get back to being a playoff team in the AFC, it can’t just be Maye leading them there. They have to surround him with more elite talent at the skill positions and offensive line. Achieving that goal needs to happen largely through the draft. But based on recent results, it’s hard to blame Patriots fans for not having a ton of confidence in the team being successful.