Patriots Make Noise on Day 2 of NFL Draft (4/25/05)

The New England Patriots kicked off Day 2 of the NFL Draft in the fourth round when they selected Logan Mankins' Fresno State teammate, safety James Sanders 133rd overall. Sanders was first team All-WAC honorable mention his freshman year and first team All-WAC his sophomore and junior seasons before declaring after his junior year. This guy was damn good at Fresno State and Rodney Harrison is getting older, makes perfect sense to have depth at the safety spot.

                                                             133rd overall - James Sanders

The Patriots had no regular fifth round pick since they sent it to the Arizona Cardinals in the Duane Starks trade. The Cardinals took Oklahoma linebacker Lance Mitchell 168th overall. The Patriots did have a fifth round pick in the supplemental draft and they used it to take UNLV linebacker Ryan Claridge 170th overall. Claridge had a relatively modest career at UNLV so this was essentially the first pick in years most Patriot fans are going "Who??" Then again, most late round picks contribute something to the team either on special teams or specific game plans so who knows, maybe Ryan will be a hidden gem. Time will tell.

                                                      170th overall - Ryan Claridge

The Patriots also traded their extra fifth round pick along with their sixth round choice to the Detroit Lions for their fourth round pick in next year's draft. The Lions selected Marshall linebacker Jonathan Goddard with the 206th overall pick. The Patriots traded their sixth and seventh round picks to the Green Bay Packers for Green Bay's sixth round pick at 175 overall. The Patriots then traded that pick to the Oakland Raiders for a seventh round pick in this draft and their fifth round pick next year. The Packers used their seventh round pick in New England's slot to pick Michigan State offensive guard Will Whitticker. The Patriots did have the Mr. Irrelevant pick with the last pick of the draft and took William Penn University tight end Andy Stokes. Stokes was a good tight end for William Penn posting All-MSFA honors his senior year for making 42 catches for 753 yards and five touchdowns. He probably has no chance to crack this roster with Jed Weaver, Christian Fauria, Ben Watson and Daniel Graham in the way but you never know. Who thought the 6th round pick back in 2000 would be a two time Superbowl MVP?

                                                       255th overall - Andy Stokes

The Patriots only had three picks on the second day and who knows if they'll pan out. Bottom line was the 3 time Superbowl champs are loaded already and didn't really have big holes to fill. Plus you know Belichick is going to bring in rookie free agents after the draft and SOMEONE is going to bring something to the team. Stokes, Claridge and Sanders may not make a roster or they'll be starters, anything is possible come training camp.

Patriots Draft Mankins, Hobbs & Kaczur (4/23/05)

The 2005 NFL Draft kicked off this afternoon with the San Francisco 49ers making a bold move by selecting Utah quarterback Alex Smith first overall. The odds on favorite to go first was California quarterback Aaron Rodgers but the Niners chose Smith instead. A lot of teams took running backs early such as Miami (Ronnie Brown), Chicago (Cedric Benson) and Tampa Bay (Cadillac Williams) and Detroit once again took a wide receiver in Mike Williams. The Patriots picked last in the first round and replaced Joe Andruzzi with Fresno State offensive guard Logan Mankins. Mankins damn near won the Outland Trophy his sophomore year in 2002 but suffered a devastating knee injury that wiped out his 2003 season. He came back to make All-WAC in 2004. With the Patriots needing a new guard to go with Matt Light and Dan Koppen on the left side, Mankins fills that role perfectly. Hopefully he can stay healthy this season.

                                                           32nd overall - Logan Mankins

The Patriots traded their second round pick to the Baltimore Ravens for Baltimore's third and sixth round picks this year and a 3rd round pick in next year's draft. The Ravens selected Syracuse offensive tackle Adam Terry with the 64th overall pick. In the third round, the Patriots used the pick they got from the Ravens to select Iowa State cornerback Ellis Hobbs. Hobbs was first team All-Big 12 his senior year while compiling 209 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and 29 pass deflections as a three year starter. He also was a vaunted kick returner with 490 yards in returns. If Duane Starks is the established corner to replace Ty Law, taking a flyer on Hobbs might work out considering Asante Samuel has also found success. Good luck to Hobbs this coming season.

                                                     84th overall pick - Ellis Hobbs

With the third round pick they got from the Patriots in the Starks trade, the Arizona Cardinals picked Virginia linebacker Darryl Blackstock. The Patriots got one of the picks in the third round supplemental draft and they used it to pick Toledo offensive tackle Nick Kaczur. This was an interesting pick as Kaczur didn't go to college directly after high school, he spent two years working construction. Then he went to Toledo and dominated on the offensive line, earning All-MAC honors three years in a row from 2002-04. The MAC isn't exactly the best competition but you gotta be good to be one of the best players 3 years in a row. If Tom Ashworth gets hurt or regresses, having Kaczur to fall back on is never a bad thing.

                                               100th overall pick - Nick Kaczur

That concludes the first day of the draft for the Patriots and they might have scored big time with these picks. They needed to replace Joe Andruzzi and Ty Law and they have. Whether or not they develop will be determined with time but at least the Patriots are making the effort. Tomorrow will bring the depth pieces.