There are many ways to reach a Super Bowl in the salary cap era, but a common thread is finding players that out-perform their contract. The New England Patriots have been a master at finding productive veterans in free agency, but they’ve also found a way to incorporate stellar performances from rookies at cost-effective contracts.
The players on rookie contracts come from early rounds, like Nate Solder, Dont’a Hightower, Malcom Brown, and Sony Michel; they come from the middle rounds like Logan Ryan, James White, Trey Flowers, Shaq Mason, and Joe Thuney; and they can come from the late rounds or even undrafted, like Malcolm Butler, David Andrews, Jonathan Jones, and J.