The New England... Gators?
The round one pick by the New England Patriots came with much scrutiny. Devin McCourty from Rutgers went to the Pats 27th overall. My hope is that he steps in at free safety and nickle next season. I think the Patriots had a solid draft and in the end, patched some holes.
I liked their first selection in round two. They filled a major need by grabbing tight end Rob Gronkowski out of Arizona. Gronkowski is a huge end at 6'5'' 260 pounds with great hands. With the next two picks in the second round, the Pats grabbed two teammates from the Florida gators. Both defensive players who can help immediately. Jermaine Cunningham played defensive end in college. He should fit great at outside linebacker in a pass rushing role. Cunningham is very fast coming off the edge. He is also solid against the run, which can make him a three down linebacker. The third pick in round two was spent on Brandon Spikes an inside linebacker. Spikes is a leader who was the heart of the Gators defense. Spikes isn't a fast player but playing inside in a 3-4 defense he doesn't have to be. I like the thought of him lining up next to Jerod Mayo. He loves to hit and is great against the run and better against the pass than he gets credit for. Great pick, he is passionate about the game of football. I fully expect him to be the leader of the defense for years to come once he gets comfortable in the New England defensive scheme.
The Patriots had one pick in round three. The grabbed Taylor Price from the university of Ohio. Price has great speed and nice size. He needs to work on his hands a bit. Taylor showed he can play against top competition when he had a very nice game against Tennessee this past season. His quarterback held him back a bit. He plays tough and doesn't mind getting hit. He may never be the top dog on the Pats roster but should be a fine number two receiver at some point.
In the fourth round New England took another tight end in Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez has a much different game that Gronkowski. His speed is tremendous for an end who is 6'2'' 250lbs. He has been clocked in the 4.5's and his hands are good. One major plus is the fact he can line on and off the line of scrimmage. Something the Pats will need with Welker out much of next season. This was a very smart pick for New England. It gives Brady a solid receiver who is a mach up nightmare for both corners and linebackers due to his size and speed.
With the 19th pick in the fifth round(119 overall) the Patriots took punter Zoltan Mesko from the university of Michigan. Another holed they needed to fill. The only punter on the team is David king who has never played in the NFL before. Mesko was the Wolverines punter for the last three seasons.
In the sixth, The Pats drafted interior offensive lineman Ted Larsen. Ted played at N.C. State under former Boston College head coach Tom O'Brien. Larsen can play guard and center. His versatility gives him a better chance to catch on with the team. Most likely as a back up. He even played defensive tackle early in his college career.
New England had many seventh round picks. Thomas Welch, a big tackle from Vanderbilt can play on the right or left side will gives competition for the back up spots. Late in the seventh round they had three out of four picks. Brandon Deadrick is a defensive lineman from the national champion Alabama Crimson Tide. He has experinece in a 3-4 defense playing for coach Nick Saban. I think he will stick around and get some time next season at end. Nice pick in the so late. After Deadrick the Pats went D-line again. Kade Weston who is a massive nose tackle prospect. Weston got a ton of experience at Georgia in all four years. The next pick was quarterback Zac Robinson from Oklahoma State. I really like this choice. Robinson was a productive passer in a tough Big-12. Zac was in my opinion the best looking quarterback at the Senior bowl this past february. He is a mobile guy but needs to get bigger. Injuries have been a problem for Robinson because of his weight. Something that can be worked on while sitting and learning from one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game in Tom Brady.
I really like the whole body of work in the draft for the Patriots. Many of the players they chose will make the team and have various impacts through out the season. I give them an A-. I would have liked to have seen them grab a young running back. My only real complaint.
