2017 NFL Draft: What Happens If Patriots Win The Super Bowl
By Erik Lambert
The 2017 NFL draft hasn’t quite begun to take shape yet. Free agency and the trade market haven’t passed by just yet. To say nothing of the Super Bowl.
Therein lay an interesting piece of history. To date the New England Patriots have won four Super Bowls in their history. Tonight they’ll be gunning for their fifth, putting them into elite territory with franchises like Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Dallas. What many haven’t noticed over the years is how remarkable a trend the draft has held whenever the Patriots have hoisted the Lombardi trophy.
As it turns out the #1 pick in every draft that has followed one of their victories in the big game was the exact same thing. A quarterback.
- 2002: David Carr (Fresno State)
- 2004: Eli Manning (Ole Miss)
- 2005: Alex Smith (Utah)
- 2015: Jameis Winston (Florida State)
That might seem like nothing much to shake a stick at until realizing that of the three picks made after their Super Bowl losses, two of them weren’t QBs. In fact none of the other dynasty franchises can make such an unusual claim. Most of them had a mix of other positions involved following their title runs. Only New England boasted four-of-a-kind.
So the question becomes could this remarkable trend hold true in 2017? Initial belief is the upcoming quarterback class, while talented might not have enough polish to justify the #1 pick. Even with the Cleveland Browns holding it, a team that hasn’t had a franchise quarterback since the 1980s. Further complicating matters is Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett, whom many consider to be the best overall prospect in this class.
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Then again, it’s important to remember the #1 pick was traded last year in order for a team to grab a quarterback as the Rams did with Jared Goff. So anything remains possible. As far as weird streaks go, this one remains among the more fascinating. Perhaps another byproduct of watching Tom Brady carve out his greatness.