Patriots Make a Trade, Add 4 Players in Rounds 2 & 3 of NFL Draft

Saturday, April 30, 2016

Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv Sports Team

 

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The New England Patriots had 4 draft picks spanning the second and third rounds of Friday night's NFL Draft. 

"Yea it was a busy day for us, pretty exciting, added four players to the team that we feel will be able to come in and fill some roles for us," said Patriots Director of Player Personnel Nick Caserio in his post draft press conference. 

The Patriots night started with a trade. New England traded the 61st overall pick to New Orleans in exchange for the 78th and 112th. So going forward, New England had picks 78,91, 96, 112, 196, 204, 208, 214, 221, 243 and 250. 

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The Selections 

Pick #60 

The Patriots first pick of the draft came at number 60 where they took Cyrus Jones, a cornerback out of Alabama. 

"Cyrus is a versatile player, played on the perimeter mostly at Alabama, he's also a very effective punt returner, I think he had four touchdowns, four punt returns for touchdowns this season so real good ball skills, good with the ball in his hands," Caserio said. 

Jones is a 5'10" corner with a physical edge who can play man or zone and has the ability to take receivers off of their routes. 

Jones was arrested last year following a dispute with an ex-girlfriend, however, the charges were dropped a few days later. 

The pick gives New England depth at corner behind Malcolm Butler and Logan Ray. Butler is a restricted free agent after this upcoming season, while Ryan is unrestricted. 

Pick #78 (from New Orleans) 

With pick number 78, New England selected offensive lineman Joe Thuney, out of North Carolina State. Thuney is 6'5", 304 pounds and has experience at both the guard and tackle position.  He has also served as a backup center for NC State. 

"The thing about Thuney is just his overall versatility. He started at guard, he started at left tackle this season, we went down there to work him out and we actually snapped him, worked him at center. The overall value he brings in terms of his versatility is something that is hard to find," said Caserio. 

Pick #91 

With their second to last pick of the night, the Patriots selected North Carolina State quarterback Jacoby Brissett. 

"We were definitely going to add a third quarterback, no question about it, whether it was in the draft or however we did it," added Caserio. 

Brissett is 6'4" and finished his college career with a 46 to 15 touchdown to interception ratio. 

With Tom Brady suspended for the first four games of the season, the Patriots need a back up quarterback behind Jimmy Garoppolo. 

With that said, the Patriots should still be in the market for a veteran backup as training camp nears. 

Pick #96 

With pick number 96, their final pick of the night, the Patriots selected defensive tackle Vincent Valentine from Nebraska. 

Valentine is 6'4" and 329 pounds.

Rounds 4-7 Set for Today 

The Patriots have 8 picks in the final three rounds of the NFL Draft. 

Round four begins at 12 noon 

 

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