Ernie Adams Shares Philosophy on Patriots' First Round Pick

Ernie Adams was once the most trusted confidant of former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, serving his Football Research Director - a role ostensibly created specifically for Adams - for 20 years, helping the team win six Super Bowls over the course of their two-decade long mega-dynasty.

Having been out of the game since 2021, Adams has shown up here and there on podcasts and other media, giving his thoughts on the state of the franchise that this past February went back to the Super Bowl for the first time since his departure back in June 2021.

And speaking to ESPN's Patriots correspondent Mike Reiss on April 12, Adams outlined his thoughts on New England's first round pick - #31 overall, an area of the draft that - and how he and the other decision-makers approached the early rounds of the draft back in his day.

"You have absolutely no way of knowing for sure who's going to be there when you pick. It's impossible. You're a couple picks away, but it's like drafting at the top of the second round so you just have to be ready for whatever might happen," Adams said in an interview with ESPN.

Adams also noted that while there are always predictable players that go in the first round - everyone knows that running back Jeremiah Love, edge rusher Arvell Reese and offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa will be selected before the Patriots get on the board - each year there are surprise choices.

"There are going to be 30 players taken ahead of you. Half of the players, everybody in the world knows they're going to be taken. But there will be surprises after that. Somebody may take a player at 23, and you say, 'Oh my, what happened there?'" Adams continued.

Ernie Adams Emphasizes Value Over Position in the Draft

Potentially most crucially, Belichick's former right-hand-man stressed the importance of taking the best player available, rather than simply addressing current team needs.

"Whoever you take there is going to be on your team, you're married to it unless it's a disaster. So we're trying to answer the question, 'Who has the best chance to help us win football games?' Which comes down to best player there," Adams noted.

"You might say, 'We need a linebacker in the worst way' and there's an OK linebacker but a big-time offensive lineman. Then when you draft him, what you have is an average linebacker and you just passed up a really good player. Two years from now, nobody is going to think, 'Did they fill a need?' They'll say, 'Wow, they got a really good player.'"