After years of shaky draft results, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick reportedly became more open to input from scouts ahead of the 2021 NFL draft.
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported Belichick held formal meetings with the scouting department and "reworked other past practices" in an effort to improve draft results. Breer noted that scouts have left the Patriots in recent offseasons over frustrations with Belichick seemingly shutting them out of the draft process.
"Belichick's own experiences with players and his connections in college coaching too often would trump the information his scouts were giving him," Breer wrote, citing the feelings of those in the organization.