Although it will be different, Bill Belichick will still be in the NFL Draft. The six-time Super Bowl champion head coach will co-host alongside Pat McAfee during ESPN’s coverage of next week’s draft.
The draft will likely be Belichick’s first stop in an expected partnership with ESPN and Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Belichick said Wednesday on the “Pat McAfee Show.” “Draft day, draft weekend, is always an exciting time for everyone. … It’s a great event. I can’t wait to see it on the other side.”
This draft will mark the first in 50 years that Belichick is not associated with an NFL team. His next role as co-host, however, kept him in his usual pre-draft routine.
“Kind of like what I did,” he said. “I’m looking at the players, especially the ones that might be involved in our show, so the guys in the upper part of the draft. … I’m just trying to do a little preparation. I’ve watched a lot of these guys at the fall, even some last year where they didn’t come out, but they were still factors… It’s just kind of an ongoing process. I always enjoy that part of the season.
While he was widely known for his emotionless press conferences, Belichick sometimes showed his more colorful side. He has often shown this side during appearances in NFL Films documentaries. He won an Emmy for his work on the series “NFL 100 All-Time Team” in 2019.
Personality aside, it’s hard to find anyone as qualified to discuss the draft as Belichick, who during his time with the Patriots drafted several future stars, including Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Vince Wilfork, Richard Seymour and Julian Edelman, among others.
Belichick also made his share of notable trades during the draft, including the one with Oakland in 2007 that brought future Hall of Famer Randy Moss to New England.
