The New England Patriots added seven players — four on defense, one offensive tackle, and two specialists — on Day 3 of the NFL Draft Saturday
Here’s who the pick impacts for better, or worse, moving forward.
Winners
DC Terrell Williams: After watching his team add four offensive players to start the draft, Williams finally got some additions to his unit with four defensive players selected on Day 3. Two of those — Joshua Farmer and Bradyn Swinson — come along the defensive line which is Williams’ specialty. Both are toolsy pass rushers who have plenty of room to continue to grow under Williams’ watch.
UDFA Class: The Patriots quickly got to work on their UDFA class following the draft. The initial returns look extremely promising and it would not be a stretch to include one or two UDFAs on a way-too-early 53-man roster projection. From this point of view, Eastern Washington’s Efton Chism is the favorite, as his skillset and route running ability are the prototype for a Josh McDaniels slot receiver.
Elsewhere, running back Lan Larison is an intriguing dual-threat back who dominated the Big Sky conference. A pair of tight ends also were added in Ohio State’s Gee Scott Jr., a former top wide receiver recruit who has untapped potential as a pass catcher, and Alabama’s C.J. Dippre, a strong blocker with a good athletic profile. Both could push for TE3 duties behind Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper.
Eliot Wolf and Mike Vrabel: Watching how the new dynamic unfolded in the Patriots front office was a noteworthy one in their first draft together. Despite the haul of players looking promising, the working relationship between Vrabel’s new additions and Wolf plus the holdovers from previous years seemed to come along nicely.
“I just think the whole vision for the team was really good,” Wolf said. “There was a lot of clear communication between [Mike] Vrabel and our staff. He was around a lot in our meetings. It was just a really good process… Ryan Cowden and Coach Vrabel and Stretch [John Streicher] really came in and helped me organize this. I think we’re going to have a productive group.”
Losers
LS Joe Cardona: In a surprising late-round add, the Patriots drafted what they viewed as the top long snapper, Julian Ashby, in the draft. The athletic Ashby now looks set to enter a training camp competition with the 33-year old Cardona, who could be the next Patriots captain to be on their way out of town.
“Julian Ashby was a player that we liked. We felt like he was the best long snapper in the draft,” EVP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf said. “Through some of the conversations that we had, we felt like he might not be someone that would be available post-draft. Again, wanting to add some competition to the roster, we decided to pull the trigger there late.”
K John Parker Romo: In a similar mold to Cardona — although this one was not a surprise — Parker Romo now enters a competition of his own this summer. The Patriots used their lone sixth-round selection on top kicker Andres Borregales, who should be viewed as the favorite to win the job at this point. Parker Romo, who made 11-of-12 attempts in four games with the Vikings last season, will need a strong summer to swing the tides.
TE Jaheim Bell: Bell was close to be on the winners list after New England went seven rounds without drafting a tight end, but the aforementioned intriguing tight end additions in undrafted free agency now create tough competition for Bell this summer.
Honorable mention
Some wide receiver: The Patriots wide receiver room has way too many bodies. With three UDFA additions the current depth chart sits at 13. Even if Stefon Diggs is not ready to start the season, that number will be drastically cut down. Third-round pick Kyle Williams should be considered a lock while Efton Chism has the skillset to make a strong roster push under Josh McDaniels.
That will put Kendrick Bourne, Kayshon Boutte, Ja’Lynn Polk, and Javon Baker battling for what could be just one roster spot. A serious push from Chism, who the team is high on, could lead to all of those four on the outside-looking-in.