The New England Patriots can be a confounding team when it comes to draft time.
They may lead the NFL in “Who is that guy?” or “Wow, that’s a little early for him, isn’t it?” picks.
But they know what they like. They don’t care what the so-called experts or fans think they need. For the second straight year, for instance, the Patriots did not draft a running back, which was perceived to be a very big need. And they’ve had pretty good success doing it their way.
This year was no different. They stuck to their formula, took players they think can fit into their system while also looking toward the future. And that’s important because the Patriots have free- agent decisions to make after the 2016 season and need to have potential replacements in place.
Their two starting cornerbacks – Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan – are going to be free agents so they went for Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones with their first pick, in the second round at No. 60.
Needing help on the offensive line, the Patriots went for North Carolina State’s Joe Thuney in the third round at pick 78.
Needing quarterback depth – especially if Tom Brady has to serve his four-game Deflategate suspension – they went for Thuney’s college teammate, Jacoby Brissett.
Looking at a load of free agents on the defensive line, the Patriots went for Nebraska defensive tackle Vincent Valentine with the 96th pick, also in the third round – possibly a reach.
With their first pick Saturday, in the fourth round at No. 112, they gave their quarterback another threat in the passing game, Georgia wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell.
These four figure to have great opportunities to play next year. Not only do they fill needs but they possess the one trait the Patriots deem most important: versatility.
From the days of Troy Brown catching passes, returning punts and defending passes, to linebacker Mike Vrabel lining up at tight end and catching 12 career touchdown passes (two in the postseason) to Julian Edelman coming out of college as a quarterback and developing into one of the NFL’s most dangerous receivers and punt returners, the Patriots have valued a player’s ability to help in numerous ways.
That seems to be a trait of early picks who, director of player personnel Nick Caserio said late Friday night, “we feel will come in and hopefully be able to fill some roles regardless of what they’re asked to do.”
• Jones – nicknamed “Clamp Clampington” (for that alone you should love him) – was perhaps the best punt returner in college football last year, returning four for touchdowns and averaging 12.6 yards per return.
• Thuney (6-foot-5, 305 pounds) began his career at N.C. State as a center, then started at left tackle, left guard, right guard and right tackle over the next three years, settling on left tackle last year.
• Valentine (6-4, 329 pounds) is an immovable beast at nose tackle. But he can shift to any spot on the line and be effective.
• Mitchell – who just authored a children’s book, “The Magician’s Hat” after overcoming his own reading deficiencies – started his career at Georgia as a cornerback. After being drafted he also said, “I’ll fill up the water if they want me to.”
• Even a couple of sixth-round picks bring versatility: Eastern Illinois linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill is projected as a safety; and Illinois guard Ted Karras (the great nephew of Alex Karras) played both guard and center.
You can visualize Coach Bill Belichick and his staff designing plays and formations to take advantage of their skills.
But this draft was also about the future. The Patriots drafted Brissett probably earlier than expected at No. 91 because they desperately needed another quarterback. Strong-armed, Brissett eventually could supplant Jimmy Garoppolo as Brady’s backup.
New England also recouped the 2017 fourth- round draft pick it lost in the Deflategate punishment in a trade with Seattle. That’s important for next year’s draft.
There’s one other trait the Patriots like in their players: competitiveness. One scout summed up Alabama’s Jones this way: “He thinks everyone is always disrespecting him from media to the other team.”
In that case, he should fit in quite well with this group.
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