ST. PAUL, Minn. — There’s a left-footed punter from Louisiana Tech and a Super Bowl hero who once worked at Popeyes. There’s a center from Georgia who is related to Dan Reeves (by marriage), and the son of a Texas high school football coach who ended up dating Ms. Universe. There’s a linebacker from Kent State with a strong case for the Hall of Fame and a receiver who starred at lacrosse in college.

With Bill Belichick making his eighth appearance in the Super Bowl as a head coach on Sunday, each successive trip has prompted ways to further quantify and illuminate his genius as a coach and executive. The most glaring yet underappreciated example of that on this Patriots roster comes from its underdog soul, as 18 players on the Patriots’ 53-man roster came into the league as undrafted.

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Belichick is the only current NFL coach with complete roster control, and this aspect epitomizes the power of that autonomy. When New England takes the field against the Eagles in the Super Bowl, 34 percent of the Patriots’ roster will be undrafted.

“There’s an equality to the players drafted and undrafted in the eyes of the evaluators,” said former Patriots executive Mike Lombardi, who now works at The Ringer. “There’s no agenda. When you remove the agenda of player procurement, you end up with what are best players. You admit mistakes like they have; you don’t worry about it.”

The 18 undrafted players is considered an anomalously high number in the NFL, as the Eagles have nine undrafted players on their 53-man Super Bowl roster. The 18 undrafted players are higher than any of New England’s past four Super Bowl champions, the furthest back the team could research on Monday.

View photos Tom Brady counts Danny Amendola, right, and Chris Hogan, center, as two of his favorite targets. Both were undrafted coming out of college. (AP) More

What does the Patriots’ roster of the overlooked and undersized, misfits and misevaluations say about the organization? What does New England’s ultimately meritocracy say about the way players are evaluated without the bias? It comes down to the ultimate compliment to Belichick the executive, as he can move quickly from mistakes, gamble on hunches and avoid the political clashes that populate the league. Belichick has a quick trigger on high draft picks like Dominique Easley (first round), Aaron Dobson (second round) and Jake Bequette (third round), jettisoning from the roster as soon as it becomes clear they don’t fit. He’s also not attached to productive players who may be distractions (Chandler Jones) or not fit in the team’s fiscal plans (Jamie Collins).

“Remember, there’s no one in the front office saying we need to keep this draft picks and do this or that,” Lombardi said.

That doesn’t exactly sound revelatory, right? The best players reach the field, earn roster spots and the inferior ones are cut. Well, it’s just not that simple in the modern NFL. When the front offices and coaching staffs are separate, the roster inherently becomes a clash of egos, opinions and financial maneuvering.

There are biases everywhere, from the general manager who makes the picks to the scouts who recommend them to the owners who pay them money up front. The Patriots have the least amount of this clutter, as egos can’t clash when there’s only one decision maker.

“Bill doesn’t have to worry about that GM,” said assistant coach Ivan Fears. “He is the GM.”

Lombardi is quick to remind everyone how difficult Belichick’s jobs are. He’s noted for watching college film on the treadmill during the NFL season, reading every morsel of scouting information from his staff and being hands on with every facet of the draft. Coaches like former Arkansas coach Bret Bielema and Ohio State’s Urban Meyer told Yahoo Sports on Monday that it’s not unusual for Belichick to call them about their opinions on undrafted free agents.

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