Undrafted linebacker and special-teams ace Pierre Woods celebrates a sack of Jets quarterback Brett Favre Thursday night.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

Maybe because his own football background wouldn’t exactly have suggested greatness in the NFL, Bill Belichick has a soft spot for underdogs.

His coaching staff is dotted with men who also got their start at schools not exactly known for their football prowess. Linebackers coach Matt Patricia played at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, receivers coach Bill O’Brien played at Brown, and his roster, unlike others around the league, is flush with undrafted players.

Regardless of whether they were an All-American at an SEC school or a benchwarmer for a Division I-AA squad, Belichick won’t give anyone, player or coach, a responsibility on his team if he’s not delivering.

“I appreciate them, absolutely,” Belichick said this week of undrafted players on the roster. “Guys that are undrafted have a certain degree of underdog status, long shot or whatever you want to call it. So it is great to see those guys that nobody talks about or nobody has any hope for do well and be able to play, compete and have a job in this league. To me, that’s what the NFL is all about.”

New England seemingly keeps at least one player not chosen in the draft around every year, but this season it has two undrafted rookies on its squad who are playing key roles.

In total, there are a dozen current Patriots who weren’t drafted.

Rookie Gary Guyton has earned a larger role with the defense at inside linebacker, not just playing in sub-packages, but spelling Tedy Bruschi with the base defense at times. BenJarvus Green-Ellis was promoted from the practice squad out of necessity, but has scored a touchdown in four of his first six games.

Pierre Woods is leading the Pats in special-teams tackles, as he did last year. He got his first career start at outside linebacker last Thursday night. Mike Wright is a key member of one of the best defensive lines in football. Lonie Paxton has never muffed a long snap in his career, and Ray Ventrone, Antwain Spann and Eric Alexander also have earned themselves spots as special-teamers.

Matt Gutierrez serves as the third quarterback and is very adept at running the scout team to prepare the defense. Billy Yates started the season at right guard in place of Stephen Neal, who never even played a down of college football. Neal was a standout wrestler at Cal State-Bakersfield.

Then there’s Wes Welker. The wideout who couldn’t latch on in San Diego was a versatile contributor for Miami. He has become the go-to receiver for Tom Brady and Matt Cassel, setting a franchise record with 112 catches last year and is on pace to eclipse that number this year.

Part of New England’s success in finding undrafted players who can contribute. Team scouts have to create a file on every senior at a school, not just the starters or top reserves. That’s how career backup Matt Cassel got noticed at USC.

As Belichick notes, it’s not everywhere that performance is valued above all, regardless of résumé. But it’s the way the Patriots do it, and when players like Neal and Guyton get playing time, it makes it easier for the team to entice similar players to come to New England.

“It is not about your pedigree,” said Belichick. “It’s about your performance, and I like that. That’s the way it should be and that’s the way I try to make it here.”

smanza@projo.com