Deion Branch – WR – Louisville
2002 Draft / 2nd Round / New England Patriots
How does a second round draft pick turn into a first round draft pick? When that second round pick is former Super Bowl MVP Deion Branch. Mired in a bitter contract holdout as a restricted free agent with New England, Branch found himself shipped off to Seattle in exchange for a first round draft pick and ultimately the free agent like payday he desired from the onset.
Early on in his career Branch became the favorite target of Patriots QB Tom Brady racking up 2,744 yards and 14 touchdowns in his four seasons with New England. He would go on to be a key part of two Super Bowl Champion teams and would earn MVP honors for his 11 catch, 133 yard outing in Super Bowl XXXIX. Attempts to negotiate a contract extension prior to the 2006 season fell flat with Branch and his representatives seeking contract figures he would expect if he were an unrestricted free agent. The resulting breakdown in negotiations led to the Patriots trading him to the Seahawks.
During his six years in the league Branch has amassed more receiving yards than any of the other ten receivers taken ahead of him which include three first round draft picks. Of the eleven wide receivers taken in the first two rounds of this draft only one, Josh Reed (LSU, 2nd, 36th overall) is still with the team that drafted him. This seems to perpetuate the belief that with wide receivers it is either feast or famine.
While injuries have limited Branch’s effectiveness since arriving in Seattle he has put up a respectable 1,386 receiving yards with 8 touchdown receptions. It is still too early to tell whether the cost of acquiring Branch was too high for Seattle. With any luck a healthy Branch will help the perennial NFC West contenders take their game to the next level justifying the trade and his sizeable contract. And while New England might have maximized their value by trading him for a first round draft pick they struggled to replace his production on the field during the 2006 season.
As irony would have it the Patriots would go on to acquire three other members of his draft class in an effort to replace him. For the 2006 season the team signed free agent Reche Caldwell (Florida, 2nd, 48th overall). During the season the team would sign Caldwell’s former Gator teammate Jabar Gaffney (Florida, 2nd, 33rd overall) who was waived by the Eagles during the preseason. Finally, prior to the 2007 season the team would sign free agent Donte Stallworth (Tennessee, 1st, 13th overall).
Caldwell, the Patriots’ leading WR in 2006, would be released before the season began and Gaffney is due to become a free agent at the end of the month. As for Stallworth, the Patriots have informed him that they will not pick up an option bonus to extend his contract which would also make him a free agent unless his contract can be restructured. As a result two years later the Patriots are still trying to replace Branch and one could make the argument that they should have just paid him in the first place.
For a table of all of the players selected at his position in this draft click here.
Statistics courtesy of nfl.com.
