Patriots

The Patriots drafted 10 players in 2019. Where’d they all go?

With Yodny Cajuste signing with the Jets, the Patriots are set to open 2023 with none of their 2019 selections.

By Peyton Doyle

June 1, 2023

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Fresh off their Super Bowl win over the Rams, the Patriots had a chance to reinforce their roster in the 2019 NFL Draft with 10 total selections.

Bill Belichick took five players in the first three rounds, including wide receiver N’Keal Harry, who went No. 32 overall.

Four years later, with Yodny Cajuste recently signing with the Jets, it appears that none of the Patriots’ 2019 draft picks will be with the team in 2023.

Cajuste was the last 2019 draftee still under contract with the team, but he was released earlier this offseason.

With the entirety of the draft class now gone, let’s take a look at what they contributed in their time in New England, and where they are now.

First round

In 2019 N’Keal Harry was one of the headliners of an all-time draft class for wide receivers. In his last two years at Arizona State, the 6-foot-4-inch Harry caught 155 passes for 2,230 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Taken 32nd overall, Harry was the second receiver taken in his class behind Marquise Brown. In the rounds that followed, Deebo Samuel, A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf, Mecole Hardman, Diontae Johnson, Hunter Renfrow, and Terry McLaurin were drafted.

Harry started his rookie year about as poorly as he could, injuring his ankle in training camp and spending the first nine weeks of the season inactive.

Once he finally got some action at the end of 2019, Harry produced little. He tallied just 12 catches on 24 targets over his seven games as a rookie.

His time with the Patriots didn’t improve much after 2019. He started in just 13 games over the next two seasons and accumulated 45 catches, 493 yards, and two touchdowns.

After the 2021 season, Belichick and the Patriots moved on from Harry, trading the then 24-year-old for a seventh-round pick.

After spending more time on the injured reserve to start last season, Harry appeared in seven games for Chicago, catching seven passes.

In March, the Bears allowed Harry to become a free agent, and he remains unsigned.

Second round

Belichick took cornerback Joejuan Williams out of Vanderbilt with his second-round selection in 2019. From the jump, Williams struggled to carve out a spot on the roster.

The corner played mostly on special teams over his first two years. He saw just 15 percent of the team’s defensive snaps as a rookie, and as a sophomore that figure only jumped to 18 percent.

In his third year with the Patriots, Williams saw his action jump a bit and played in a third of the team’s defensive snaps. He never got a chance to make another jump, however, as his 2022 season was ended after a shoulder injury in August.

After spending the whole year on the IR, Williams was granted free agency and was signed by the Vikings in April.

Third round

Chase Winovich leapt out of the gate for Belichick’s defense as a rookie. The edge rusher racked up four sacks in the first five weeks despite playing fewer than half of the team’s defensive snaps.

As the season went along, Winovich didn’t see his playing time on defense increase very much. He played about a third of the time when the Patriots were on defense but remained a steady presence on special teams.

When he was playing on defense, he put together a few multi-tackle games, but his sack numbers fell off as 2019 went along.

Winovich’s second year was his best with the Patriots. Playing fifty-eight percent of the team’s defensive snaps, he had 5.5 sacks, 48 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble.

In 2021 however, the combination of the Matt Judon signing and an October IR stint saw Winovich’s playing time plummet. In the offseason, Winovich was traded to the Browns for linebacker Mack Wilson.

Following the 2022 season, the edge rusher was granted free agency and signed with the Texans.

Ten picks after the Patriots took Winovich, the team selected Damien Harris out of Alabama.

After receiving just four carriers as a rookie, Harris put together three solid seasons for New England. His best year came in 2021 when he totaled 1,061 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns.

Harris’s production slowed a bit in 2022 as the introduction of Rhamondre Stevenson to the offense was coupled with a pair of Harris leg injuries. Despite the limited role, Harris still managed 559 total yards and three touchdowns in his 11 games last year.

Following the season, the Patriots allowed Harris to become a free agent, and he signed with the Bills a week later.

Yodny Cajuste was the final third round pick by Belichick in 2019.

The tackle struggled to establish himself in New England, playing in just two of his four seasons with the team due to injuries.

When he was healthy, Cajuste played in a total of 17 games, starting in five.

Fourth round

Hjalte Froholdt was the second offensive lineman selected by the Patriots in 2019. The Denmark native missed his entire rookie season due to a shoulder injury he suffered in his final preseason game.

In 2020, the guard played in just eleven percent of the team’s offensive snaps over eight games before he was released in November.

Froholdt then spent the next year between Houston and Cleveland’s practice squads, playing just 18 total NFL snaps.

In 2022, Froholdt figured something out with the Browns and played in every game for the team, starting six.

After the season, Froholdt became a free agent and signed with the Cardinals in March.

Jarrett Stidham was the highest quarterback selection by Belichick since Jacoby Brissett was taken in the third round in 2016.

Stidham, an Auburn product, was first-team All-SEC as a sophomore and was decent as a junior with the Tigers, throwing for 2,794 yards and 18 touchdowns.

He didn’t see much game action as a member of the Patriots. He threw four passes as a rookie behind Tom Brady and had 44 attempts filling in for Cam Newton a year later.

After not seeing any action in his third year, Belichick flipped Stidham for a seventh-round pick.

In 2022, Stidham started the final two games of the season for the Raiders. In those contests, he threw for 584 yards and four touchdowns. This offseason, the Broncos gave Stidham a two-year, $10 million deal to be their backup.

Fifth round

Byron Cowart played sparingly for the Patriots as a rookie. The defensive lineman played just 44 snaps in 2019 but saw a major jump in playing time as a sophomore.

During the 2020 season, Cowart started in all 14 games that he played in for New England, making 27 tackles, including three for losses.

In August 2021, the Patriots placed Cowart on the physically unable to perform list and the Maryland product missed the entire season. In the summer, the Colts claimed him off of waivers and used him only on special teams during the 2022 season.

In May, Cowart signed a contract with the Texans.

Jake Bailey is arguably the most productive player to come out of the 2019 draft class for the Patriots. The punter was named First Team All-Pro in 2020 and played in all 49 of his team’s games in his first three seasons.

In the summer of 2022, New England gave Bailey a four-year extension through the 2025 season worth $13.5 million.

The good times with Bailey didn’t last however. The punter was placed on the injured reserve with a back injury in November, and in January was suspended by the team while still in the recovery process.

In March, the Patriots released Bailey, and he signed with the Dolphins a week later.

Seventh round

While Bailey was one of the most productive picks by the Patriots in 2019, the team’s selection after him was undoubtedly the least.

Ken Webster was the final selection by Belichick in the draft, and he was waived in the final week of the 2019 preseason.

The cornerback made five starts for the Dolphins after they picked him up in early September, but his rookie season was cut short due to an injury in December.

In 2020, San Francisco grabbed Webster off of Miami’s practice squad but only used him as a special teams player.

Following some time on the Jets’ practice squad in 2022, Webster signed with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders in January 2023.