

The key free agent for the Bills was Gilmore. Doug Whaley was still the team's general manager, but it's hard to believe he had much say in personnel decisions, given that the Bills fired Whaley immediately after the 2017 draft and replaced him with Panthers executive Brandon Beane. March 2017 was a weird period for the Bills, who had hired Sean McDermott to replace Rex Ryan. What happened next: Gilmore signs with the Patriots. March 1, 2017: The Bills decline to place the franchise tag on CB Stephon Gilmore. Patriots fans might already feel like Carroll handed them one Super Bowl (XLIX), but that might be selling short the history of how the Patriots ended up with Brady. Collins won a ring with the Rams but was out of football by 2001, the year Brady took over as Patriots starter for an injured Drew Bledsoe and led New England to the Super Bowl, where it beat those very same Rams. You know what happened next for Brady, who is unquestionably the best draft pick in league history. The Patriots famously debated between drafting Brady and Louisiana Tech product Tim Rattay, who would eventually go to the 49ers. I'm going to guess that Collins, who was signed by the Rams to a four-year deal, was the free-agent loss who handed the Patriots the 199th pick in the 2000 draft. They also simultaneously signed several players and were awarded four compensatory picks in the 2000 draft: a fourth-rounder, two sixth-rounders and a seventh-round selection.īy virtue of the various contracts handed out to the Patriots who left, we can narrow down the two sixth-rounders to defensive tackle Mark Wheeler and linebacker Todd Collins, who shares a name with a longtime backup quarterback. When I analyzed Belichick's propensity for accumulating draft picks back in 2015, I found that the Pats had cap trouble under Pete Carroll's administration during the 1999 offseason and had to let several starters leave in free agency.
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What happened next: The Patriots get a compensatory pick and use it on QB Tom Brady.īill Belichick might have drafted Brady, but the draft pick the Patriots used to select Brady actually made its way to New England while Belichick was still defensive coordinator of the Jets. March 12, 1999:The Rams sign away LB Todd Collins from the Patriots. I'll start in the AFC, where the Patriots' dynasty was built upon a move nearly 20 years old. Let's run through the ways the eight remaining Super Bowl contenders were built by accident. Fortuitous timing and mistakes from other teams were enough to help build some of the best teams in football. In many cases, the moves didn't even involve a conscious decision from the executives and owners who proudly stand behind their playoff teams today. The hands of fate conspired to open up opportunities for organizations to look very smart after the fact. Luck might be the residue of design, but in the NFL, your luck also can be a product of someone else's subpar design.Įach of the eight remaining playoff teams made brilliant draft picks, found smart coaches and devoted hours upon hours to scouting the right talent for their roster. A star player narrowly avoided an injury. A dangerous would-be opponent was eliminated before they could ever match up. It's like Entourage for the sports fan (well, at least when Entourage was vicarious fun).Every single team to win a Super Bowl has needed to get lucky along the way. Maybe it is because of a career-defining play you would love to replicate, or the ability to experience their otherworldly talents, or even a chance to live their lavish lifestyle.

Here you will find 50 iconic athletes any of us would love to be for one day.

Wouldn't it be awesome to be that guy, if only for one day? As you trot around the bases, soaking in the pandemonium of the moment, you can't help but think that you are now a hero in the city and a part of baseball lore. It's Game 7 of the World Series, bottom of the ninth, two outs, man on second and your team is trailing 3-2 as you walk to the plate.Ī single here ties the game, and you are only looking for a pitch to poke into the outfield, when a pitch that looks to be the size of a watermelon is thrown down the middle of the plate.ĬRACK! You drive the pitch into the left field seats and win your team the World Series.
