3 biggest draft busts in New England Patriots history

2006 NFL Draft: Laurence Maroney and Chad Jackson

Okay, this is cheating. It is impossible to pick one or the other here. Laurence Maroney was the Patriots first-round pick in 2006. They took him 21st overall right after losing in the Divisional Round to the Denver Broncos. Patriots fans were disappointed to go down so meekly after its first dynasty. It was time to retool to win again.

Maroney would be the running back the Patriots needed to have a split offense. Tom Brady was rounding into his Hall of Fame form, and Belichick was always focused on a superb running game. However, Maroney was not it. He played four seasons in New England, topping out at 835 yards. He only scored six rushing touchdowns during the Pats’ 2007 undefeated regular seasons despite being the main cog at the position on one of the historic offenses in history.

Chad Jackson was somehow even worse. The Florida Gators product looked like a typical Bill Belichick steal, but he flopped as quickly as fans could even show their excitement. It makes it one of the worst moves of the Belichick regime since he traded up to take Jackson, something that was rare for him at the time.

Jackson played one season before tearing his ACL in the playoffs. That forced him to miss most of the next season. He eventually returned and caught one pass. His career never recovered, and his NFL shot eventually fell by the wayside. What makes it worse is the Patriots left Devin Hester on the table to take Jackson, who was cut at the end of training camp in 2008.