We’ll never know what would have become of Aaron Hernandez if the New England Patriots hadn’t drafted him in 2010.
But it’s at least possible, as episode 4 of “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez” makes clear, that Hernandez’s off-the-field problems would have prevented him from ever playing a single down in the NFL.
Of course, that’s moot because former Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who’s played in the Ryan Murphy-produced FX series by stage actor Norbert Leo Butz, chose to ignore all the fights and failed drug tests and take the troubled tight end from the University of Florida with the 113th pick in the 2010 NFL draft. The rest, as they say, is history. Barely five years after he was selected by the Patriots, who ultimately gave him a $40 million contract, Hernandez was convicted of one murder and implicated in two others. He died by suicide in prison in 2017.
“A ton of upside, no risk,” Belichick says before using a fourth-round pick to take Hernandez, who’d been passed over by every other NFL team. “It’s an absolute steal at 113.”
In episode 4 of the FX show, which is based on The Boston Globe’s Spotlight series and accompanying podcast (produced by The Boston Globe and Wondery), we see Hernandez and his agent, Brian Murphy, (played by Thomas Sadoski), prepping for the NFL draft. Aside from his client’s many away-from-the-game issues, Murphy is alarmed that Hernandez also scored poorly on the Wonderlic Test, which is used by NFL scouts, coaches, and GMs to evaluate players’ decision-making and problem-solving abilities.
“Nobody’s questioning your athletic ability,” Murphy tells Hernandez (Josh Rivera), explaining to the Bristol, Conn., native that he’ll go low, if at all, in the draft. “They’re questioning you, your character.”
But Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft rolled the dice anyway, hoping that Hernandez just needed to grow up a little. What’s the worst that could happen? A lot, as it turned out.
Episode 4 also introduces a male character named Chris, an athletic trainer who becomes Hernandez’s on-again, off-again romantic partner. Chris is a fictional character, a composite of a couple of people who were in Hernandez’s life.
Mark Shanahan can be reached at mark.shanahan@globe.com. Follow him @MarkAShanahan.
