The New England Patriots have developed a certain reputation over the decade and a half that Bill Belichick has been running what can now rightly be deemed the NFL's flagship franchise. No, not that reputation. The other one. The one that involves taking the trash from the league's other personnel men and turning it into inexpensive, unentitled, productive treasure. As the NFL's version of Darth Vader (Except he doesn't die in the end. And sacrificing himself to save Josh McDaniels or Romeo Crennel? Come on.), Belichick is a man with a singular focus - winning.
It seemingly trumps all else in his life. To that end, Belichick has managed to find a way to keep the Patriots personnel cupboard not just full, but stocked nearly to overflowing, year in and year out. No more Darrelle Revis? No problem. Malcolm Butler, fresh off a Super Bowl superhero trick, can get the job done. No more Randy Moss? We didn't want to run that kind of high-flying offense anyway. Let's get some small, speedy wide receivers and a couple of athletic tight ends. That'll do the trick.
Chandler Jones leaving a little too much to be desired, on and off the field? Flip him for an underperforming veteran with as much innate talent as question marks and a high draft pick. Anyone want to guess the most likely outcome for that trade for the Pats?
And what about the late Wednesday trade that netted the Pats tight end Martellus Bennett, shortly after word leaked that the team had signed former Bears first-round pick Shea McClellin? These acquisitions, surprising though they may be, combined with the signing of Chris Long, Chris Hogan and Donald Brown, represent The Patriot Way.
They're smart, cheap, effective adds that bring plenty of talent and, most importantly, potential. Bennett is a former second-round pick. Cooper, McClellin, Brown and Long were first-rounders. Really, only Hogan entered the NFL to little fanfare as an undrafted free agent with the San Diego Chargers.
But for the rest of the group, they bring the potential of first-round talent, but on cheap deals that will result in little more than a shrug of the shoulder should they fail to pan out.
Cooper, the 6-foot-2, 310-pound guard acquired as part of the Jones trade, was viewed by most NFL pundits as nothing more than a throw-in to complete the deal. But Cooper, a standout lineman at UNC who was nabbed by the Arizona Cardinals with the seventh pick of the 2013 NFL Draft, is still just 26. His ceiling may not be quite as high as the Cardinals had hoped and he'll have to shake off a knee injury if he's going to make an impact in New England, but he brings the kind of potential that allows Belichick to so often make something out of, seemingly, nothing.
"I've heard nothing but great things," Cooper said recently. "I realized it's a great opportunity, fresh start. There's definitely a lot worse places I could go. This is a heck of an organization to play for."
The bet here is that if and when McClellin and Brown and Bennett and the rest of the guys officially become Patriots, they'll voice a similar refrain. The Patriots represent winning thanks to Belichick's singular focus. And that ability to win comes down to not just schemes and drafting, but the intelligent free agent signings that have become a hallmark of Belichick's tenure.
Moss. Corey Dillon. Rodney Harrison. Mike Vrabel. Brian Waters. Andre Carter. Alge Crumpler. Larry Izzo. The list goes on.
Belichick has built a cottage industry out of taking players off the scrap heap of lesser organizations and turning them into the productive presence they were once expected to be. Part of that is the culture already in place in New England - players like Cooper know that joining the Patriots means falling into line. But it's also about finding a niche for players who were maybe - and in several cases, definitely - asked to fill a role they weren't perfectly suited for.
Sure, Brown's not going to wow anyone with big runs these days. But does he have the potential to be a perfect complement to the likes of Dion Lewis and James White? Yep.
Long isn't the guy who once went second-overall to the Rams. But can he provide a strong veteran presence and some quality rotational snaps as a pass-rusher and a good handful of sacks? Yep.
Will Bennett be a 10 touchdown, 800-yard guy? In all likelihood, no. But will he draw attention away from Rob Gronkowski and help create matchup problems for defenses? Again, yes.
And Cooper and McClellin both failed to find homes within the lineup at their initial NFL stop, but are still-young veterans with the skillset of first-round picks. Put into a better situation - especially McClellin, as Cooper was part of a quality Cardinals organization - it really wouldn't be surprising to see either player thrive.
McClellin was viewed by many as a future 3-4 outside linebacker when he entered the draft. The Bears took him and immediately attempted to shoehorn him into a 4-3 role. Surprise, surprise - it didn't work. It's probably a safe bet he'll perform duties more naturally suited to his athleticism in New England.
At this point there's no telling which of Belichick's signings and/or additions will pay dividends and enter Patriots free agency lore next season, and which will be lost to history just a few short months from now. But there's one thing that's certain - the Patriots remain the class of the NFL not because they sign the biggest free agents or make the biggest offseason trades, but because they, time and again, make the shrewdest, most cost-effective moves.
