The New England Patriots built a dynasty largely on successful draft picks. Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, Rob Gronkowski, Dont'a Hightower, Devin McCourty, Vince Wilfork and many others were drafted, developed and became key pieces of teams that won the Lombardi Trophy six times in a 18-year span.
The current state of the Patriots can be described by the opposite scenario. New England's roster is bereft of high-end talent, perhaps more than any other team in the NFL. So it's not surprising that the Patriots are 3-8 entering Week 12, or that they finished 4-13 at the bottom of the AFC standings last season.