Skip to main content
Advertising

Will Patriots draft player from title game? Belichick was watching

Bill Belichick took a break from his preparation for the Patriots' Saturday Divisional Round game vs. the Texans to do some college scouting on Monday night. He tuned in for the national championship game, and it sounds like quite a few players caught his eye.

"We'll see what it looks like in a couple of months, but I'd say there's a lot of good football players on the field; some of whom I knew about, some of whom I'm going to need to find out more about," he said on Tuesday.

Belichick is no stranger to breaking down tape from the biggest college football game of the year. He watched last year's title bout between Alabama and Clemson repeatedly before New England selected Crimson Tide CB Cyrus Jones with its top pick.

"I remember watching that game last year and watching it probably, had to be at least 10 times in the offseason because there are so many players," Belichick said. "So the ones that played last year that didn't play this year are being replaced by guys who are going to be a factor in the NFL, who are now draft-eligible. And you're able to see them against other players of comparable, whether they're draft-eligible or not, the guys that are playing in this game are pretty good, they're draft-eligible this year, they're draft-eligible next year or soon hereafter."

There's already speculation about which player from this year's title game will land with the Patriots. Undersized Clemson receiver Hunter Renfrow is a fan favorite, as he's being compared to Patriots like Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola. If it's a player from Clemson, it will end a 26-year streak. New England hasn't selected a Tiger since 1991. Belichick has taken a player who was coached at Alabama by his former assistant Nick Saban in 3 of the past 5 years.

Follow College Football 24/7 on Twitter _@NFLCFB_.

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.

Related Content