Bill Belichick fell miles short of his 33rd team promises with 1st draft class

When Bill Belichick took over as the head football coach at North Carolina, the talk around Chapel Hill was how the Tar Heels were going to become the "33rd team." What this means is simple: UNC football was going to be run professionally, being a feeder for NFL teams to take and succeed with.

Well, the early results failed miserably, as not a single Tar Heel was selected in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The NFL Draft pick drought continues for UNC

For the first time in a decade, North Carolina didn't have a single player hear their name called in the NFL Draft. It also continues a drought that began in last year's draft, as no Tar Heels have been selected since Omarion Hampton went in the first round of last year's event.

Yikes.

Of course, there are a few things to consider here before we all start bashing Belichick and the new staff.

For starters, this trend started at the backend of the Mack Brown era. Let's face it: UNC hasn't produced much NFL-caliber talent over the last two seasons, especially this year when the new staff got a late jump in trying to build a capable roster for Belichick's first season at the helm.

Going into this particular draft, the options were extremely limited, as the Tar Heels' best two potential options to get selected were cornerbacks: Thaddeus Dixon and Marcus Allen.

Dixon, an undersized player, was sidelined for half of his final college football season, potentially hurting his draft stock. He did have a top-30 visit with the New York Giants and has signed with them as an undrafted free agent, but given his talent, it's surprising no one took a chance on him in hopes of unlocking his full potential.

Allen has the prototypical size of an NFL cornerback but had his fair share of struggles in Chapel Hill. While it's not a surprise to see him not get selected, it wouldn't have been shocking if he did get picked, given teams are always looking for secondary depth that they can develop.

The drought will continue into the 2027 NFL Draft, and the pressure is on Belichick and his staff to start producing NFL-quality players. If they are unable to, the heat will begin to rise in Chapel Hill, as the inability to turn this program around could lead to another at the helm sooner rather than later.

Hopefully, Belichick can be the guy to steer this thing in the right direction. If he can't, it's going to be a rough couple of years ahead for the UNC football program.

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