After being released by the Patriots ahead of the 53-man roster cutdown Tuesday, Cole Strange jumped to the top of the list no draftee wants to be on.
While the Patriots have struggled mightily to draft and develop, especially during the latter years of the Bill Belichick era, arguably no player has been a bigger disappointment than Strange. He was mocked as soon as the Patriots selected him with the 29th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft– remember the Sean McVay press conference? — and made fun of on the way out as the team’s social media account initially released a graphic citing he made the roster.
Unfortunately for both the player and the organization, it turned out to be a dumpster fire from the very beginning.
Asked to rank the five worst draft picks since 2022, Patriots insiders Tom E. Curran and Phil Perry both had Strange atop their respective lists.
“It’s tough, especially for this name at the top, and it’s Cole Strange,” Perry said on Early Edition on Tuesday. “It’s not his fault he was taken in the 20s. He suffered a devastating injury and he probably should have been a second- or probably even more closely a third-round pick. But he wasn’t.”
Perry reflected on how the Patriots traded back with the Chiefs, who selected two-time All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie with New England’s original selection. Bypassing on such an opportunity makes it even more difficult to stomach.
Curran agreed with Strange taking the top spot on Perry’s list.
“The interesting thing with Cole Strange is you had, the previous season, Ted Karras playing that position,” said Curran, noting Karras currently is a captain and starting center for the Bengals. “You had Shaq Mason at one guard position and you had Joe Thuney at another. You’ve moved on from those players long ago, but those guys are still playing in the league with Thuney at a very high level. And you’re scrolling through trying to get guys.”
Strange is far from New England’s only draft pick who has failed to live up to expectations. In total, the Patriots have drafted 38 players since the 2021 NFL Draft and just 12 are on the 2025 active roster. Those are players who, like Strange, should still be playing on their rookie contracts.
Both Perry and Curran also labeled 2022 second-round receiver Tyquan Thornton as New England’s second-worst pick with 2024 second-round receiver Ja’Lynn Polk on each insider’s list, as well. Others who received the nod included 2023 third-round linebacker Marte Mapu, 2022 fourth-round running back Pierre Strong, 2024 third-round offensive lineman Caedan Wallace and 2023 fourth-round kicker Chad Ryland.
Speaking on the Patriots Talk podcast, Perry added some more reflection.
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“Talking to other executives in football when that pick was made, people were stunned,” Perry said. “And it went about the way the league thought it could go, outside an injury.”
Perry continued: “I think it is a window into how broken the behind-the-scenes system was at the time. My understanding at the time was that that morning buzz around the building was that Bill (Belichick) had already decided he was taking Cole Strange in the first round, it was just a question of where. … They traded down passing on a player that a lot of people in the building liked — it’s not the first time that had happened so it was not necessarily earth-shattering — the corner who went to Kansas City, Trent McDuffie.”
Strange will always have a spot on the list of worst Patriots draft picks. But perhaps he can find solace in the fact he’s not alone.
