Nick Buoniconti was lightly regarded by pro scouts despite being the captain of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. They viewed him too small, and nobody in the NFL selected him in the 1962 Draft. The Boston Patriots did, with their 13thRound Pick, but little was expected of him. As we know, this wasn’t the case.
For many younger Patriots fans, the history of the franchise did not begin until Tom Brady took them to their first Super Bowl win in 2001. Of course, we know that was not the case at all, and we have our first AFL player to look at in Center, Jon Morris.
Stanley Morgan was a stud offensive skill player at the University of Tennessee, where he was used mostly as a rusher. The New England Patriots knew they had something special in Morgan when they used the 25thOverall Pick in 1977 to land him, but they found that he would be better served as a Wide Receiver.
Mike Haynes played the first seven of his fourteen-year career with the New England Patriots, and he was a Pro Bowl Selection in six of them.