Patriots Early Draft Moves

As the Patriots use their second round picks to trade for 8 5th rounders over the next 4 years, here’s a little recap of what they did before round 2 started. Surprisingly, they actually used both first round picks yesterday. Both were not very expected picks, but I’m glad because it will shut up all of the crazy predictions people make for the Pats. They also made a very interesting trade before the 2nd round started.

Pick 23: Isaiah Wynn – OL – Georgia: I list him as an offensive lineman because I don’t think anybody knows what position he will play exactly. The Pats seem to have a knack for turning these versatile o-linemen into successful players. Scharnecchia knows what to do with a guy like this. I know the Pats also usually like undersized players, but a guy that isn’t even 6’3″ and plays Left Tackle? That seems like something that would not work out in the NFL with the size of pass rushers in the league. He could be here to challenge Joe Thuney and Shaq Mason. Thuney struggled with holding penalties last season, and Mason struggles in pass protection, so he could add depth to the o-line as well as challenge some starting jobs.

Pick 31: Sony Michel – RB – Georgia: This might have been a bigger surprise. I don’t think anybody saw them taking a running back at all in the first round. This guy is a great Pats fit though. He is smaller, very fast, very quick, and very versatile. That is exactly what they like. He can run between the tackles, catch passes, and pass protect very well. He might be the guy they are looking at to be the feature back of the team in the near future. He will most likely fit in like every other running back right now and play a certain role on the team. The only confusing thing about this is the current depth at the position. They have a similar back in James White, re-signed Rex Burkhead and Brandon Bolden, signed Jeremy Hill, and also still have Mike Gillislee. It will be interesting to see who goes and who fits in where. Michel has a bright future with the Pats.

-Jake Kobierski (@TheRealKobe83)