“Who Could Live Their Life Like That?”: Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson React to Bill Belichick’s Regret on Passing on Lamar Jackson in 2018

If you didn’t count Super Bowls as an important accolade for QBs, Lamar Jackson could be considered the best QB of his generation (so far) by a mile. He’s a two-time NFL MVP (and arguably should’ve won a third), a four-time Pro Bowler, and a three-time First-Team All-Pro. He also led the league in passer rating in 2024 and became the all-time QB rushing leader (6,173 yards) after just seven seasons.

And yet, on draft day back in 2018, teams wouldn’t touch the 2016 Heisman winner with a 10-foot pole. Four other QBs were taken in the top 10 that year: Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, and Josh Rosen. In fact, every team that made a selection in the first round — including the Baltimore Ravens, who held the No. 25 pick — initially passed on Jackson.

However, Baltimore traded back up to No. 32 to snag the QB. That was one spot after No. 31, where Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots — who, along with 30 other teams, would go on to rue that day — had made their pick.

In his new book, The Art of Winning, Belichick has a chapter called “Mistakes” that is all about, you guessed it, the errors he made during his two decades in New England. While one reviewer thought the chapter was lighter than it should have been, one clear admission of guilt was his decision to take RB Sony Michel at No. 31 instead of preparing for post-Brady life by taking Jackson there.

However, if you listen to Shannon Sharpe, living and thinking about decisions you made in hindsight will only bring you sorrow.

“It’s hindsight, it’s a magnificent sight. It’s easy to say. But, hold on, if they’d have thought Lamar Jackson was gonna be this, they’d have taken him No. 1! It’s easy to look back… because you have the luxury of knowing now what you didn’t know then. Who could live their life like that? Who could live their life like that, Ocho?” the former TE said on an episode of Nightcap.

It’s true that hindsight is 20/20, but it feels like Belichick’s regular sight should’ve caught this one. The Patriots already had James White and Rex Burkhead at running back, and Sony Michel wasn’t exactly a generational prospect. Plus, New England didn’t rely all that heavily on the running game anyway.

We might not have known it, but Belichick, Tom Brady, and Robert Kraft were surely well aware of their own dislike towards one another by that time. They should have known a new era would be beginning soon. Just two years later, the Patriots bid goodbye to Brady.

And in 2023, Belichick suffered a similarly ignominious end in New England. In fact, before the start of the same season, Lamar had informally told rapper Meek Mill that he would have loved to play for the Patriots. In a media interaction back then, the Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, not only made that revelation but also hinted at pursuing Lamar only if Belichick gave his approval for it.

However, it was a case of perceived interest more than anything else, eventually. Had the deal gone through, the real question is – Would Bill and Lamar have worked well together? Not according to former Patriots player and a good friend of Lamar’s, Asante Samuel.

As they say, whatever happens happens for the best. But just imagine if the Patriots had bootstrapped their post-Brady rebuild with Lamar Jackson. The Lamar Jackson-Josh Allen battles would have been epic. New England might have been able to stretch their AFC East hegemony from 20 years to 35. The league probably dodged a bullet on that one in the end.

Instead of becoming Chapel Hill Bill as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, Belichick might be well on his way to smashing Don Shula’s all-time NFL wins record.