New England Patriots 2019 Draft Class Bust: Where Are They Now?
Every NFL team has a draft pick that turns out to be a bust. The New England Patriots have an entire draft class that didn't pan out.
While the Patriots have stumbled upon some gems in the most recent NFL Drafts (i.e. Marcus Jones, Rhamondre Stevenson), one of their most recent classes has hit a dangerous landmark in this young NFL offseason. With Damien Harris and Jake Bailey each signing with new teams, only one player remains from their 11-man group from the 2019 NFL Draft. Those were the final rookies chosen with Tom Brady on the roster and the last squad they drafted as Super Bowl champions (topping the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 53). The departures are perhaps a dangerous trend in Bill Belichick's watch as head coach and de facto general manager, one that perhaps explains why the Patriots have struggled to reach the playoffs since Brady's departure.
Where has that last class gone? Patriots Country investigates, as well as looks back on who they could've gotten within the immediate 10 picks after ...
1st Round: WR N'Keal Harry, Arizona State (32nd overall)
Then: Harry was brought in to solve the Patriots' aerial big play problem a year after the team's second-leading receiver was running back James White. Some pegged the former Sun Devil as the steal of the draft as the final pick of the first round and he had a lot to live up to: Harry was the first receiver the Belichick-era Patriots drafted in the opening round and the first overall since the late Terry Glenn in 1996.
Now: Harry's New England career was probably doomed from the start, as an ankle injury sustained during training camp led to him playing only seven games with Brady. The early stages of his rookie season had hints of dual-threat potential but he never found a groove with the team, even when he was pressed into service as the de facto top option for year one of the post-Brady era. Over 21 appearances in New England in his first two seasons, Harry earned 414 yards on 45 receptions before calling for a "fresh start" via trade. When New England found no takers, Harry only mustered 184 yards in what became his final year in Foxboro. He was eventually dealt to Chicago last summer for a 2024 seventh-round and ironically made his Bears debut against the Patriots. Snaps proved equally difficult to come by in the Windy City, as he earned only 116 yards on seven catches.
Could've Had: Byron Murphy, Jawaan Taylor, Deebo Samuel, Dalton Risner
2nd Round: CB Joejuan Williams, Vanderbilt (45th overall)
Then: The Patriots moved up twice in the second round, totaling 19 advancements to land the 6-foot-4, 210-lb. Williams, an athletic cornerback out of the SEC. He was lauded for his versatility and figured to fill in nicely as the project corner for the Miami-bound Eric Rowe.
Now: Williams has had trouble jockeying for snaps and his coverage skills have left plenty to be desired. His fourth year was a potential dealbreaker, but he never got to embark upon it, as his season ended in the summer with a shoulder injury that came with a trip to injured reserve ... one that might've saved him inclusion amongst the final camp departures. As it stands, Williams is one of two defensive free agents that remain unsigned by the modern Pats, the other being the retiring Devin McCourty. New England has shown little, if any, interest in starting a reclamation project. To make matters worse, the Seattle Seahawks took D.K. Metcalf with the Patriots' regularly scheduled pick at 64th overall.
Could've Had: A.J. Brown, Miles Sanders
3rd Round: DE/LB Chase Winovich, Michigan (77th overall)
Then: Winovich was chosen with one of the picks gained from the aforementioned trade with the Seahawks. Owner of 18.5 sacks over his final three seasons in Ann Arbor, Winovich was a bit of a project alongside 2017 arrival Deatrich Wise Jr., working behind edge veterans like Lawrence Guy and John Shelton.
Now: Winovich wasn't offensively bad in New England, picking up 11 sacks over his first two years. But when it became clear he had more to offer on special teams rather than defense ... especially after an injury kept him out of the first four games of 2021 ... he became expendable upon the arrivals/breakouts of Matthew Judon and Josh Uche. Winovich was traded to Cleveland in exchange for Mack Wilson last spring and he later declared that the deal was the "greatest thing that ever happened to (him)."
Could've Had: Nate Davis
3rd Round: RB Damien Harris, Alabama (87th overall)
Then: Using their regularly scheduled third-round choice, the Patriots invested in the Tuscaloosa rushing pipeline, taking Derrick Henry's former backup and a two-time national champion. Unlike some of his predecessors on this list, Harris overcame some early adversity, including medical woes, to make an impact. He took over the Patriots' primary rushing duties by his third season and scored 15 touchdowns in his third year.
Now: Alas for Harris, 2021 arrival Stevenson slowly eeked his way onto the rushing ledger and his coup was more or less completed when Harris was forced to miss six games with hamstring and thigh issues, ending last season with half as many attempts as the year before, thus almost immediately accepting the opportunity to move on from New England once he hit the free agency ledger. Harris has a prime opportunity to show the Patriots what they could've had, as he's set to succeed Devin Singletary with divisional rival Buffalo.
Could've Had: Bobby Okereke, Dawson Knox
3rd Round: OT Yodny Cajuste, West Virginia (101st overall)
Then: With a pick gained from their Super Bowl partners in Los Angeles, the Patriots took Cajuste, seen by some as a first-round talent before injuries ate away at his final collegiate playing days. New England was impressed by his run-blocking ability and envisioned him as a project that could've potentially replaced the Oakland-bound Trent Brown in due time.
Now: It's hard to fully grade Cajuste, as further injury issues have limited him to only 17 games since his arrival, his first two wiped out entirely. Though Cajuste faces an uphill battle to establish himself in the New England blockers' room (with in-season arrival Conor McDermott retained alongside newcomers Calvin Anderson and Riley Reiff), there was enough lingering faith in him to place an original-round tender upon him.
Could've Had: C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Maxx Crosby
4th Round: G Hjalte Froholdt, Arkansas (118th overall)
Then: Froholdt's selection was historic, as he was the second-ever Danish-born player to be chosen in the NFL Draft (behind Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen). Then-Patriots defensive line coach Bret Bielema possibly played a role in Froholdt's arrival, having witnessed him switch sides during his time as the head coach of the Razorbacks. Forholt was chosen with the other pick gained in the Seattle trade.
Now: Froholdt, alas, is another story of a New England career that ended before it truly got started, as he missed his entire rookie season due to a preseason shoulder injury. He appeared in eight games with the Patriots during the transaction-crazy 2020 season before he was released that November. Since then, Froholdt has appeared in Houston and Cleveland's systems but recently inked a two-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals.
Could've Had: Ben Powers, Tony Pollard
4th Round: QB Jarrett Stidham, Auburn (133rd overall)
Then: As with any New England passing selection over Brady's final years, a fair amount of hype generated by the conversations of "successor" surrounded Stidham's arrival. Stidham beat out Brian Hoyer for the backup job in his rookie season and appeared to be the next man up once Brady migrated to Tampa Bay.
Now: New England, however, pulled the rug out from under Stidham, signing fellow former Tiger Cam Newton weeks before training camp opened. Stidham couldn't even hold the backup job, falling to the third-string slot behind Hoyer by the time the 2020 season opened. Even with injuries, illness, and inconsistency, Stidham did not make any starts that season and posted a 54.7 passer rating over five relief appearances. After Stidham was held out of the 2021 season entirely (partly due to offseason back surgery), former offensive coordinator/newly-minted Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels brought him over in a trade for a sixth-round pick and afforded him his first NFL starts at the end of the year. Stidham has since inked a two-year deal with the Denver Broncos.
Could've Had: Greg Gaines, Michael Jordan
5th Round: DT Byron Cowart, Maryland (159th overall)
Then: Some felt that Cowart, who made a name for himself with the Terrapins after struggling to crack the defensive rotation at Auburn, should've spent another year in school but the Patriots were attracted to him as a day three project. The departure of Malcolm Brown to New Orleans possibly helped exacerbate that process.
Now: Cowart found a bit of a niche role playing the end on 3-4 sets and later contributed on special teams, but that wasn't enough to expand his Foxboro career. After 17 games with New England (14 during the 2021 season), Cowart was released before the start of last year's training camp. He was quickly scooped up by Indianapolis, where he served as defensive depth.
Could've Had: Charles Omenihu
5th Round: P Jake Bailey, Stanford (163rd overall)
Then: Bailey beat six-year incumbent Ryan Bailey for the then-rare duty of punting in New England. An injury to Stephen Gostkowski later turned him into the Patriots' kickoff specialist.
Now: Even when punting became more of a common occurrence in Foxboro, Bailey responded well to the challenge, earning both All-Pro and Pro Bowl nominations in 2020 (becoming the first New England punter to earn the former honor. His Patriots career ended on a bizarre note, as he was suspended by the team for undisclosed reasons during the final stages of last season, mere months after he inked a $13.5 million extension. Like Harris, Bailey chose to sign with a divisional rival though he opted to take his kicking talents to South Beach.
Could've Had: David Edwards, Darius Slayton, Cole Holcomb
7th Round: CB Ken Webster, Mississippi (252nd overall)
Then: Though he struggled to stay healthy in Oxford, the Patriots had developmental hopes for Webster, the third-to-last pick of the draft who finished fourth in the SEC with 11 pass breakups during his sophomore season in 2015.
Now: Webster did not make it out of his first training camp with the Patriots, as he was part of the team's final cuts. He later surfaced on the rosters of San Francisco and Miami, appearing in 17 games between 2019-20.
Could've Had: A.J. Cole, Greg Dortch, Jack Fox, Deonte Harris, Donald Parnham, KaVontae Turpin, Shy Tuttle, Olamide Zaccheaus (undrafted)
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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