Excuse Bill Belichick if his hoodie’s a bit dirty — digging through the scrap heap is not the cleanest way to do business.
But that’s as much a staple of Belichick’s operation as any, the Patriots mastermind believing he can wring talent out of players whom others couldn’t tap. He digs for value anywhere, whether because other teams could no longer stand them (Randy Moss, Aqib Talib, Chad Johnson, Albert Haynesworth) or because other teams could not extract the ability that Belichick sees.
The myth of Belichick comes with an ego — he believes he can do what others can’t. He counts on the religion of the Patriots converting newcomers.
In the wake of New England’s head coach and de-facto GM trading for Kyle Van Noy on Tuesday, here are five gambits Belichick has played or is playing, low-risk, high-reward guys the coach has bet on:
Kyle Van Noy
The Lions flameout was a second-round pick in 2014, drafted 40th overall. The BYU superstar, hailed as an athlete who could both cover tight ends and rush the quarterback, never developed, and Detroit abruptly gave up on him.
The Patriots grabbed Van Noy Tuesday for a measly cost of moving down one round, sending a sixth-round 2017 pick to Detroit and receiving a seventh-rounder in return.
Barkevious Mingo
The Browns’ sixth-overall pick in 2013 was supposed to be a quarterback’s nightmare, a 6’4, 240-pound agile pass-rusher who was a track star before becoming a football star at LSU.
He never fit into Cleveland, even after bulking up and gaining 20 pounds last offseason to try to jump-start his career. His underperformance caught the eye of Belichick, who sent a fifth-round pick to Cleveland for Mingo at the tail end of training camp.
The immediate results have not been great. Mingo has mainly played a special teams role with New England, registering just three tackles in seven games.
Jonathan Cooper
The Patriots acquired the No. 7-overall pick in the 2013 draft through a trade with Arizona, in which they also brought in a second-round pick in exchange for stud defensive end Chandler Jones. While salary-cap flexibility also was in play, Belichick thought he could turn the flop of a guard out of North Carolina into a late bloomer.
He would have to be a very late bloomer. The Patriots cut him earlier this month, after a foot injury knocked him out of the starting lineup, and he couldn’t reclaim his spot.
Shea McClellin
The next great Bears linebacker never panned out. A first-round pick in 2012, McClellin spent a quiet four years in Chicago, registering 7.5 sacks total and never transforming into the Brian Urlacher heir Chicago had hoped for.
New England scooped him up in free agency this offseason, and he’s had an injury-marred start — he missed a pair of games with a concussion, and otherwise has been a backup. Bringing in Van Noy does not bode well for McClellin.
Tim Tebow
The rising Mets superstar played a little football, too.
Tebow, the Heisman Trophy-winning, Bible-thumping, man-saving, meme-spawning cult hero, was a surprise first-round choice by the Broncos in 2010, inexplicably helmed a team that won the AFC West and a playoff game in 2011, then was ushered out of town thanks to Peyton Manning and a left arm that could not throw. Belichick took a chance on him in 2013 after he flopped with the Jets, and Tebow lasted until Aug. 31 before being released. Belichick tried to stylize a new (backup) offense around the mobile quarterback, but it never came to fruition.