Pats’ pick in 1st round not a surprise
Friday, April 26, 2013
The annual NFL Draft got started just after 8:00 pm ET Thursday night in New York, with each of the league's 32 teams hoping to find a future star.
For the New England Patriots, who selected just after 11:00 pm with the 29th pick overall...they'll have to wait a bit longer for their potential star to shine. As expected, with only five selections overall in this year's draft, the Patriots traded down with the Minnesota Vikings, gaining an astounding four extra selections in return for that 29th spot. The Vikings used the pick to take Tennessee WR Cordarrelle Patterson, the third first-round selection for Minnesota on the night.
In return, the Patriots picked up a 2nd (52nd overall), 3rd (83rd), 4th (102nd) and 7th (229th) round selection from Minnesota for the 29th selection. 4-for-1 clearly made the Patriots blink...giving them two 2nds, two 3rds, one 4th and three 7th round picks overall...going from five draft picks to eight in one fell swoop. With the overall depth in the 2013 draft thought to be a bit thinner than in recent years, the Patriots followed recent tradition in building up draft numbers and selections, perhaps increasing their chances of finding solid players available at a later time.
So, while the new stars began to shine Thursday night around the NFL, they won't actually start shining for the Patriots until Friday's Day Two of the draft begins.
DRAFT NOTES
With a normal draft target for the Patriots in the recent past coming from the offensive line, it's interesting to note that five of the first 10 players selected in the draft - including the first two picks - were offensive linemen...the #1 overall selection was offensive tackle Eric Fisher out of Central Michigan, going to the Kansas City Chiefs...At the draft party for season ticket holders held in the Gillette Stadium Putnam Club, Patriots owner Robert Kraft paid tribute to 25 members of the Boston Police Department, all of whom were first responders in the Marathon bombings that took place on April 14th. Each officer was presented with a Patriots #1 jersey, with "Boston" on the back. Additionally, Kraft announced his family and the Patriots Charitable Foundation has netted $617,000 in total contributions to the One-Fund Boston, rounding off the contribution in order to honor the "617" area code...as for their AFC East division rivals, the Miami Dolphins traded up into the 3rd spot in a deal with Oakland, and selected DE Dion Jordan from Oregon. At #9 with the first of two first rounders, the NY Jets selected DB Dee Milliner from Alabama, and at #13 took DT Sheldon Richardson from Missouri. The Buffalo Bills, with the 8th overall pick, swapped spots with the St. Louis Rams at #16 and picked QB E.J. Manuel from Florida State...
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