The conventional wisdom is that Bill Belichick is smarter than everyone else, and especially when it comes to the draft and accumulating assets.
We've all heard it before ... Belichick turned this pick into these picks to acquire this player ... checkers, chess. Often, it's true. And Belichick's mind and decision-making is revered around the league. It's not just Patriots fans who are impressed with Belichick's roster management; other teams know how good he is.
But Belichick might have met his match in Ravens general manager and Taunton native Eric DeCosta.
Two of the deals Belchick has pulled off the last two years could become a decided advantage for the Ravens, one of their biggest AFC rivals and a team that finished 14-2 and beat the Patriots 37-20 last season.
Basically, the Ravens wound up with these players through deals with the Patriots:
DE Calais Campbell: five-time Pro Bowler, including the last three years
RB J.K. Dobbins: 2020 2nd-round pick
DT Justin Madubuike: 2020 3rd-round pick
LB Malik Harrison: 2020 3rd-round pick
DE Josh Uche: 2020 2nd-round pick
OG Jermaine Eluemunor: Inactive for six games, and the playoff game
WR Mohamed Sanu: 26 receptions in eight games last season
C Russell Bodine: Cut after one week.
Patriots trade: 2020 4th-round pick to Baltimore
Patriots receive: OG Jermaine Eluemunor, 2020 6th-round pick
Patriots trade: Ravens 6th-round pick to Bills
Patriots receive: Bills C Russell Bodine
Patriots trade: 2020 2nd-round pick (55th) to Falcons
Patriots receive: WR Mohamed Sanu
Ravens trade: TE Hayden Hurst to Falcons
Ravens receive: 2020 2nd-round pick (Patriots' 55th) & 5th-round pick (Atlanta's 157)
Ravens trade: 157th pick from Hurst trade to Jaguars
Ravens receive: Jaguars DE Calais Campbell
Ravens draft RB J.K. Dobbins with Patriots' 55th overall pick
Patriots trade: Round 3, 71st overall; Round 3, 98th overall to Ravens
Patriots receive: Round 2, 60th overall; Round 4, 129th overall (New England's Eluemunor pick) from Ravens
Patriots drafted: LB Josh Uche, 60th overall; (129 was one-third of Dalton Keene deal)
Ravens drafted: DT Justin Madubuike, Texas A&M; LB Mark Harrison, Ohio State
____________________
Obviously the final chapter on all these moves is three years from being written because many of the parts were drafted this year.
But at this moment, the Patriots have acquired three players who have at least failed to live up to initial expectations or delivered on the capital used to acquire them (Eluemunor, Sanu, Bodine — obviously still hope for Sanu to pay off in his second season). We'll see on Uche, who will at least be a role player this year but could become an important front seven player in short order if history is any judge.
The Ravens, meanwhile, a starting defensive end (Campbell), a backup running back and future starter (Dobbins), a potential starter at weakside linebacker (Harrison), and a sub interior pass rusher as a rookie (Madubuike).
If the Ravens have another strong season and if their drafted depth players have an impact when injuries hit, we could look back at these deals as a crossroads for the Patriots and Ravens — through deals with each other.