Golden Goose? Another Small College Discovery Makes Patriots Roster

Perhaps relaying on a tip from same man who brought them Julian Edelman, New England finds its next dark-horse star in Sam Roberts.

Then: Julian Edelman.

Now: Sam Roberts?

In the Spring of 2009, a sportswriter from Dallas was chatting up New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick about the upcoming NFL Draft. The writer had the audacity to suggest Belichick take a look at a small kid from a tiny school.

“It’s kind of interesting,” Belichick explained. “He followed the draft very closely, and at one point he said to me, ‘A kid you might want to take a look at is this quarterback out of Kent State. I don’t think he can play quarterback (in the NFL), but I’ve heard he’s a pretty good player.' So we kind of got going on him a little bit, and we were like, ‘OK, what would we do with this kid?"

On a tip from the writer, the Patriots wound up drafting the unknown player in the seventh round (232nd overall). And, as the legend goes, that's how former Dallas Morning News reporter Rick "Goose" Gosselin discovered Super Bowl LIII MVP Julian Edelman.

Could the Fairy Tale scenario be unfolding again in 2022?

Now a writer for Sports Illustrated's Talk of Fame Network, in March Gosselin penned an article about another under-the-radar prospect. Huge kid with big upside. Dominated at his small school. Barely got noticed. No invites to the Senior Bowl or the NFL Scouting Combine.

Title of the article: "Will the NFL Find Sam Roberts?"

Guess who Belichick and the Patriots drafted with the 200th overall pick in the sixth round of last April's draft? Sure enough, Sam Roberts. And, don't look now, guess who made the Pats' final roster?

Yep, the long-shot defensive lineman that pounced on a fumble for a touchdown in New England's only preseason victory. (That fumble, for what it's worth, was caused by another underdog story - undrafted rookie DaMarcus Mitchell - who helped keep an uncanny Patriots' streak alive.)

We're not suggesting Gosselin is on the Patriots payroll or even that he again spoke with Belichick before the draft. It is, however, an undeniably charming coincidence, yes?

Roberts, a 6-4, 290-pound defensive lineman from Northwest Missouri State, was the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year. He led his NCAA Division II team that finished 11-2 and ranked No. 4 with 18 tackles-for-loss and 6.5 sacks. Roberts won the 2021 Cliff Harris Award as the nation’s best small-college defensive player.

Harris went undrafted out of tiny Ouchita Baptist in Arkansas in 1970, signed with the Dallas Cowboys as a long-shot free agent and went on to play in six Pro Bowls, five Super Bowls and last summer get inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Joining Roberts as a winner of Harris' award: Patriots safety Kyle Dugger in 2019.

Said Roberts at his award presentation, "Cliff told me don’t worry about where you come from. He told me if you can play football, you can play anywhere.”

Whether it be Kent State, Northwest Missouri State or simply somewhere on Gosselin's radar.