New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft knows how precious his team's draft picks are. The Patriots, long the gold standard in the NFL (sorry, Mr. Lurie), have rebuilt themselves time and again under head coach Bill Belichick's watch using draft ammunition to maneuver in and out of selections, targeting areas of need and drafting the best players available. Once again, when the 2016 NFL Draft rolls around, the Patriots will have a cache of draft ammunition to do with whatever they please.
Only, they won't have a first-round pick this year. The Patriots have 11 picks come late April, but thanks to the Deflategate scandal and the sanctions handed down by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, are without a selection in the first 32 picks.
Kraft, speaking to reporters Monday at the NFL's annual owner's meetings, said that he penned a letter to Goodell earlier this offseason in the hopes of seeing the pick returned after scientific findings seemed to exonerate the Pats and future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady.
"They had a full year of being able to observe Tom Brady play with all the rules of whatever the NFL was and make any judgments. We laid it out pretty straight forward and now it's up to them to decide," Kraft said. "We've done everything we can do and actually I want our fans to know that I empathize with the way they feel. We have put our best case forward and that's in the league's hands now."
Of course, with the league and Brady still at odds and fresh off another court bout regarding the quarterback's destruction of his cellphone and appealed four-game suspension, it's unlikely that Kraft's letter was well received on Goodell's end.
The Kansas City Chiefs, on the other hand, may have a better shot at recouping some of their losses following the league's punishment, meted out after it was determined the Chiefs had tampered with then-Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (again, apologies Mr. Lurie) prior to the 2015 league year.
Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt announced on Monday at the league meetings that the franchise had filed an official appeal of the sanctions, which included the loss of a third-round pick in 2016, a sixth-round pick in 2017, a fine of $250,000 for the organization, a fine of $75,000 for head coach Andy Reid and a fine of $25,000 for GM John Dorsey.
The Chiefs had five days from the issuance of the ruling to appeal the decision in writing, which they did.
The Chiefs, who eventually signed Maclin to a five-year, $55 million deal, still have seven selections in the upcoming draft, but Hunt, like Kraft, knows how important it is to the future of his team to have every opportunity to land another potential franchise player.
"What is important about the draft is you're getting guys that can help the team in 2018 and 2019, so every one of those draft picks is important, and I have tremendous confidence that John will do a great job using the picks we have to build the team for the future."
