[stupac2]

Belichick is considered a draft genius largely because he is very disciplined about trading down and getting more picks, an acknowledgement that the success in the NFL is hard to predict and quantity (multiple mid-round picks) is better than "quality" (first rounders). (Long article on this here if you are interested: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/bill-b...-patriots/)

However his record on picking DBs in the first few rounds is actually surprisingly poor. Patriots pass D has been shoddy for a few years, and  has been shored up largely through FA signings (Talib, Revis).

Peter King pointed this out a few years ago: http://mmqb.si.com/2013/09/02/kevin-turn...terback/3/

"Belichick drafted seven defensive backs in the first two rounds of the six drafts between 2007 and 2012, and of those seven, only one is a starter today: Devin McCourty, and not at the position he was drafted to play."

With such a small sample size that could just be bad luck.

[stupac2]

Belichick is considered a draft genius largely because he is very disciplined about trading down and getting more picks, an acknowledgement that the success in the NFL is hard to predict and quantity (multiple mid-round picks) is better than "quality" (first rounders). (Long article on this here if you are interested: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/bill-b...-patriots/)

However his record on picking DBs in the first few rounds is actually surprisingly poor. Patriots pass D has been shoddy for a few years, and  has been shored up largely through FA signings (Talib, Revis).

Peter King pointed this out a few years ago: http://mmqb.si.com/2013/09/02/kevin-turn...terback/3/

"Belichick drafted seven defensive backs in the first two rounds of the six drafts between 2007 and 2012, and of those seven, only one is a starter today: Devin McCourty, and not at the position he was drafted to play."

With such a small sample size that could just be bad luck.