Revisiting The Patriots' 2014 Draft Class
BOSTON (CBS) -- Wednesday's flurry of news regarding former Patriots center Bryan Stork, from his pending release to trade to possible retirement, has caused many to look back on the Patriots' 2014 draft class. While quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (second round, 62nd overall) remains on the team, as do running back James White and tackle Cameron Fleming, the team's 2014 draft should be considered uneven at best after the departures of Stork and first-round pick Dominique Easley.
Adam Jones and Marshall Hook revisited the Patriots' 2014 draft class during the show Wednesday night. Jones and Rich Keefe were on the air during the 2014 NFL Draft and were highly critical of most of the Patriots' selections, and Jones still feels the same way about them.
"I was OK with the Dominique Easley pick ... I understood there was risk in drafting a guy who had multiple knee surgeries, but I fell for the hype around Easley ... I fell for the trap, like a lot of us out there. But other than that, I didn't like most of the picks they made in that draft."
The Patriots did win the Super Bowl in the 2014 season - "in spite of" their draft class, Jones pointed out. Easley couldn't stay healthy through his first two seasons with the Patriots. Jones marked Easley as a "miss" and the biggest first-round draft bust in Belichick's Patriots tenure.
Jones marked Garoppolo as a "question mark," wondering why the Patriots took him in the first place if he's going to be traded and not become the Patriots quarterback of the future. He acknowledged that you really can't "grade" Garoppolo yet, but if he's not Tom Brady's successor then what was ultimately the point of taking him?
"If you're going to get four games out of Garoppolo in four years - maybe four years, if he plays out the life of his contract - and you're getting back a first or second-round pick at the end of the day for Garoppolo, maybe you should have just made your pick ... maybe you should have just taken a guy there, instead of grooming that backup quarterback."
Then they get to Stork, a fourth-round pick at 105th overall. Hook marked him a "miss," even though he was the starting center in Super Bowl XLIX, because he was "good for one year" but you should expect more than just one good season out of a fourth-round pick. Jones gives the Patriots a "hit" on White, a "miss" on Fleming, and misses for the rest of their picks, who didn't make the team.
Listen to the full podcast below:
