Loss of first-round pick stings for Patriots, but far from doomsday scenario

2:19 PM ET

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — When the No. 29 pick is on the clock during the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night, the sting will be felt across New England.

A talented, cost-effective, high-upside prospect who could have been Patriots-bound won’t be selected by Bill Belichick at No. 29, a result of the NFL stripping the team’s first-round pick as part of Deflategate penalties.

It’s an obvious blow to the franchise, and barring an unexpected trade into the first round, the Patriots won’t select in the opening round for the fourth time in Belichick’s 16 drafts.

But it’s not a setback the New England Patriots can’t overcome, as evidenced by the three other drafts under Belichick that they didn’t pick in the first round — 2000, 2009 and 2013.

In 2000, when the first-rounder went to the New York Jets as part of the compensation for hiring Belichick, the draft transformed the franchise because of the selection of quarterback Tom Brady in the sixth round (199th overall).

There’s obviously some good fortune involved with that turn of events, with then-vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli once saying that if the Patriots knew what Brady …

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