Top 5 worst draft picks in Bill Belichick era

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is one of the best evaluators in the NFL. He has not only hit on prospects in early rounds (Chandler Jones, Vince Wilfork, Logan Mankins, Richard Seymour, Rob Gronkowski, Dont'a Hightower, to name a few), but he has also done an excellent job of finding value in the later stages of the draft.

Reigning Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman was a seventh-round pick. Special teams ace Matthew Slater was selected in the fifth round. And need I mention who the Patriots selected with the 199th overall pick in the 2000 draft? Tom Brady, that's who. 

While Belichick has done an excellent job with the draft, New England's head coach and de facto general manager has also had his fair share of misses. Nobody is perfect. No, not even football messiah Belichick. 

Sometimes prospects don't pan out the way you expect and that comes with the territory of being an evaluator. Having said that, let's take a look at the top five worst draft picks in the Belichick era.

5.) Tavon Wilson

Tavon Wilson appeared in 54 games over the course of his four-year career with New England. Besides his four interceptions in his rookie season, Wilson's career as a Patriot was otherwise forgettable. 

The reason Wilson makes the list is because of how badly the Patriots reached for him in the 2012 NFL Draft. New England's 48th overall selection left a lot of NFL Draft pundits confused. 

The reason why?

Wilson was expected by many to go undrafted. The former University of Illinois safety ranked 24th among players at his position and didn't even receive an invite to participate in the NFL scouting combine. 

If you didn't know, the NFL invites over 330 prospects to the combine. That shows you what evaluators around the league thought of Wilson.

During his career with the Patriots, Wilson primarily rotated in at safety and contributed on special teams. When he was in at safety, he often looked lost in zone coverage especially. When he was asked to cover receivers man-to-man it was even worse. It wasn't what you wanted to see out of an early second round pick.

Because of his below average play, New England opted not to resign him when his rookie contract was up in 2016. It was probably for the best.

4.) Ras-I Dowling

The Patriots selected cornerback Ras-I Dowling with the 33rd overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft. Being the first pick in the second round, New England had high expectations for the University of Virginia cornerback. However, Dowling failed to meet those expectations.

Dowling appeared in each of the Patriots' first two games of the 2011 season before injuring his hip against the then San Diego Chargers in Week 2. This injury caused him to miss his entire rookie season.

His poor luck continued as he suffered a torn thigh muscle in the early stages of the 2012 season after appearing in seven games for the team.

Because of his inability to stay healthy, New England cut Dowling just before the start of the 2013 season. After bouncing around on practice squads for a few years, Dowling hasn't been on an NFL roster since 2016.

Injuries, unfortunately, robbed what could have been a great career for Dowling. While injuries are something you can't predict, Dowling makes the list after only being able to appear in nine games for the team.

3.) Chad Jackson

Belichick has always gotten a bad rap for drafting and developing receivers. You can argue that narrative began after the team selected Chad Jackson in 2006.

The Patriots traded up sixteen spots to select the Florida Gator wide receiver 36th overall. Teams were blown away by the blazing 4.32 40 yard dash time he posted at the NFL scouting combine. With his speed alone he was a can't miss prospect, right?

Wrong. Very wrong.

Hamstring and groin injuries limited Jackon throughout his rookie campaign in 2006 as he appeared sparingly in 12 games throughout the season. Things didn't get much better for Jackson as he suffered a torn ACL in the AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts.

After appearing in just two games in 2007, the team chose to release Jackson just before the start of the 2008 season.

There was speculation that Jackson struggled because had a difficult time picking up the New England playbook. The team clearly felt that Jackson was no longer worth the headache cutting ties with the former second-round pick just two years after drafting him.

2.) Laurence Maroney

I'll be honest, this one pains me to this day. 

Laurence Maroney was dubbed Corey Dillion's replacement after the team drafted him with the 21st overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. After a productive rookie season splitting time with Dillon, this statement looked as if it were going to hold true.

Maroney took a small step forward in the 2007 season after Dillon's retirement rushing for 835 yards and eight touchdowns on 185 carries (4.5 avg). 

The former Minnesota Golden Gopher stepped it up a notch in the 2007 postseason rushing for 244 yards and two touchdowns in the first two games before falling to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. 

After his excellent postseason, Maroney expected to take the next step in the 2008 season. But that next step never came after suffering a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the majority of the season. 

When he returned the following season he looked like a shell of the player he once was. He looked afraid to hit the hole and danced in the backfield. Because of Maroney's timidness, his yards per carry dropped significantly in the 2009 season to a lackluster 3.9 YPC.

The Patriots eventually ended up trading Maroney to the Denver Broncos after the team's first regular season game in 2010. That 2010 season proved to be Maroney's last in the NFL. A shame for a player that flashed so much potential early in his career.

1.) Dominique Easley

You don't have to think too far back to remember this one. 

New England drafted defensive lineman Dominique Easley with their first round pick (29th overall) in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Easley was expected to make a big impact in his rookie season but those expectations never came to fruition. In his rookie season, the former Florida Gator standout put up just nine tackles and one sack after appearing in 11 games. He was placed on injured reserve in the later stages of the season and was inactive for the team's Super Bowl win against the Seattle Seahawks.

When Vince Wilfork left for the Houston Texans the following season, it was Easley who was expected to help replace him. However, Easley again failed to meet those expectations as he appeared in 11 games and starting in only one of them. His season once again ended on IR.

In a surprise move, the Patriots decided to cut Easley just before the start of the 2016 season. Just two years after the team selected him in the first round. 

Easley was on the Los Angles Rams roster in the 2018 season. But surprise, he was on injured reserve when they faced off against New England in the Super Bowl.

• Other notable misses: Aaron Dobson, Taylor Price, Jordan Richards, Antonio Garcia