Quick-hit thoughts around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Memories of Super Bowl XXXVI team: The Patriots' two-decade run of dynastic success was kick-started by an unheralded team that shocked the then-St. Louis Rams and their "The Greatest Show on Turf" offense to win Super Bowl XXXVI. And now that the 2020 NFL draft has concluded and the majority of the Patriots' roster is set, it sure feels like it has all come full circle with a 2001-type feel to it.
Just as the Patriots had to slow down Kurt Warner & Co., coach Bill Belichick seemed to approach this year's draft with the mindset of finding players to best defend the new age of quarterbacks and dynamic offenses, starting with Patrick Mahomes and the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs.
The Patriots' top picks -- safety Kyle Dugger (second round, No. 37 overall) and linebacker Josh Uche (second round, No. 60) -- are fast, explosive athletes. Neither fits in the traditional box when it comes to his respective position. Of course, playing defense against Mahomes, or the likes of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, is anything but traditional.
But while the defense was the strength in 2001, and it looks to be the same this year, Belichick's early team-building years in New England serve up a reminder of the importance he puts on three-phase complementary football: defense, offense and special teams. It's the complete team. That's the core of how he believes games are won.
The '01 team brought along a young quarterback in Tom Brady in a modest but well-balanced physical offense, and this season's squad will look to do the same with 2019 fourth-round pick Jarrett Stidham (assuming he once again beats out veteran Brian Hoyer). The Patriots naturally hope the addition of third-round tight ends Devin Asiasi (UCLA, No. 91) and Dalton Keene (Virginia Tech, No. 101) helps fill what was their greatest need entering the draft.
Where it all leads is a great unknown, and to expect a similar end result 19 years later is unrealistic.
But the similarities in approach to how Belichick's first great Patriots team was built -- and whom they need to beat to get to the top -- is hard to overlook.
2. Stidham among draft's big winners: Every draft pick has a trickle-down effect for those already on the roster, and here are three on both ends of the spectrum who stand out.
Three winners
Stidham: With QB Jordan Love on the board at No. 23, the Patriots traded out, which spoke volumes.
Joe Thuney: The starting left guard already had great leverage because of the $14.78 million franchise tag, and it only grew with no linemen selected through two days of the draft.
Three losers
Terrence Brooks: The veteran safety/special-teamer who signed in 2019 has watched as Adrian Phillips agreed to a notable free-agent deal and the team used its top pick on Dugger -- both of whom play his position.
Ryan Izzo: Adding two tight ends in the third round, which means they are locks to make the roster, could put the squeeze on the 2018 seventh-rounder.
Derek Rivers: The 2017 third-round pick who has battled injuries is hanging on at outside linebacker, where 2020 third-rounder Anfernee Jennings joins the depth chart and will be assured of a roster spot.
Catch some standout moments of former Alabama outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings' career with the Crimson Tide.
3. Top-rated tight ends acquired: One of the unique parts of the Patriots' class was how they landed two of the top tight ends on their board -- Asiasi and Keene -- late in the third round. They were the second and fourth tight ends selected in the draft (Notre Dame's Cole Kmet went 40th, Cincinnati's Josiah Deguara went 94th), with scouts viewing this as a weak class. Did the Patriots find two gems in a bad year for tight ends? Or were they reaching to fill an obvious need? ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. labeled the picks as reaches, and one scout I spoke with concurred. But that's the beauty of scouting: There will be differing opinions. The Patriots badly needed help at the position, and their differing skill-sets could open up some intriguing possibilities for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
4. Uniform switch brings back memories of '02 for old captains: One could forgive former Patriots captains from the early 2000s if the team's announcement of new jerseys last week brought back some old memories. Safety Lawyer Milloy laughed when I asked for his recollections of the 2002 season, when captains had campaigned with Belichick to wear a special blue-pant, blue-jersey combination similar to the new threads. They got their wish and then got cranked by the Packers 28-10 at home.
Milloy: "In the captains' meeting the following week, he was like, 'If you ever think you're wearing all blue again, you can f---ing forget it.' It wasn't a drawn-out conversation. It was basically, 'Stop worrying about how you look and what uniform you have on. Look at how you played!' I think he probably wanted us to play poorly so it could be a teaching moment for us."
5. Scout's view -- picks come with risk: It's always interesting to solicit the views of scouts about the Patriots' picks, and one theme that stood out was that their selections were viewed by some as more risky than might have been expected. How is that risk quantified scouting-wise?
Safety Kyle Dugger (No. 37): He has all the desired physical traits, but it's a huge jump from Division II Lenoir-Rhyne. Also, it comes in an offseason when coaches likely won't be able to work with him in person to help bridge that gap.
Linebacker Josh Uche (No. 60): Measuring in at 6-foot-1 would be considered height-deficient in the team's grading system. And he didn't play a lot in college until his final season.
Linebacker Anfernee Jennings (No. 87): Some of his testing marks were low.
Tight end Devin Asiasi (No. 91): He is a one-year starter who measured at 6-foot-3 (a bit shorter than desired at the position).
Tight end Dalton Keene (No. 101): He had lower production, which made some question why he entered the draft after his junior season.
6. Short draft board ties into trade strategy: In explaining the Patriots' two aggressive trades late in the third round to select Asiasi and Keene -- in which they sacrificed a volume of picks to better their position -- director of player personnel Nick Caserio said, "We kind of looked at the board, projecting forward, whether or not we actually were able to utilize all the picks." What does Caserio mean when he says that? In essence, he is highlighting how the Patriots have a short list of draftable players, and thus they were concerned they would run out of players for their slots in Rounds 4 through 7. So the late-round picks weren't as valuable to them in that scenario. It was an interesting peek behind the curtain on how the Patriots, whose draft board is as small as any team in the league, operate.
7. Packers' pick sparks thoughts of Brady/Garoppolo in '14: One could make a case that the Patriots' selection of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the 2014 second round (No. 62) was an additional spark that Brady needed after a 2013 season that was below his usual high standard in some areas. Three Super Bowl titles later, Brady elevated to a higher level. While the Packers' trade up in the first round to select Love at No. 26 is a little different based on draft compensation, I see some similarities between the situations with 36-year-old Aaron Rodgers.
8. Draft-pick surplus in '21 leads to a Belichick first: When the Patriots included a 2021 sixth-round pick in their trade to move back into the third round for Keene on Friday, it marked the first time in Belichick's 21 years as coach that he made a draft-day trade involving a future-year selection. Why the change? While Keene himself was obviously a factor, probably more than that was the Patriots' 2021 draft surplus. In addition to having all their original selections in Rounds 1 through 7 next year, they owned two additional sixth-rounders from trading defensive end Michael Bennett and receiver Demaryius Thomas. The Patriots also project to receive a compensatory pick in the third round and two more in the fourth.
9. Staley's retirement: With 49ers offensive tackle Joe Staley announcing his retirement Saturday, it closes the book on what might be the greatest win-win trade in recent NFL history. In 2007, the Patriots traded a first-round pick (No. 28) to the 49ers so they could select Staley, and in return, they received a 2007 fourth-round pick and 2008 first-rounder. The Patriots turned around and traded the '07 fourth-rounder for receiver wide Randy Moss, and then landed in the top 10 the following year to select linebacker Jerod Mayo. Staley-Moss-Mayo -- what a trade.
10. No receivers: In a year scouts called one of the deepest in recent memory at wide receiver, the Patriots punted on the position. Could that eventually come back to bite them? The group lacked some dynamic playmaking ability and threatening speed last season, using Julian Edelman and a less-than-100% Mohamed Sanu in its primary grouping, so what might be different this season? The return to health of 2019 first-round pick N'Keal Harry would be a great place to start, and there seems to be optimism that free-agent signings Damiere Byrd and Marqise Lee will be contributors in some form. There's also the possible development of 2019 undrafted free agents Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski. But did the Patriots miss an opportunity in what some viewed as a historically deep receiver class? That's one lingering question from the draft.