This is How Bill Belichick Grades Draft Prospects
NFL teams have various ways of grading draft prospects. For some, it translates into incredible value and success. For others, it leads to the dreaded NFL purgatory.
The New England Patriots are one of the teams that has had incredible success drafting players, which has led to two decades of sustained success since Bill Belichick began running the show. They have a knack for finding value in the mid-to-late rounds of the draft, which allows them to spend most their salary cap on what Belichick believes are the most valued positions on a football team. That remedy has helped the Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances and six championships since 2001.
But what is Belichick's algorithm to determining the value of a player before they even take an NFL snap? Former Patriots scout and Executive Director of the Senior Bowl Jim Nagy shared that information with us this week via a Twitter thread, explaining how the Patriots head coach teamed up with former New England general manager Scott Pioli to create a grading scale to place a number value on prospects ahead of the draft.
This grading scale was used to perfection in the mid rounds of last year's draft. New England drafted defensive end Chase Winovich and running back Damien Harris in the third round, and selected quarterback Jarrett Stidham in the fourth round. Winovich is on his way to becoming a starter on the defensive line, and Stidham looks to be the successor to Tom Brady. And while Harris' role moving forward is a bit uncertain, his well-rounded game out of the backfield is something Belichick will surely utilize to some capacity in 2020. That's great value considering those players were late Day 2, Day 3 picks.
Entering one of the most important drafts of his head coaching career, Belichick will need to nail this year's draft if he wants to continue the Patriots' success into a third decade. With Brady gone, very little cap space to work with and an aging team, getting younger while remaining talented is the No. 1 priority for what is being labeled as a one-year rebuild in New England. That's why you can bet Belichick and company having been grinding tape, doing background checks, and will utilize that grading scale to the upmost potential, so when the draft begins later this month they have more hits than misses in terms of drafting the right players for the Patriots' system.
