11:16 p.m.: That’s it for the third round, and thus, the night.
The Patriots opened things up with a shocker by taking Illinois safety Tavon Wilson with the 48th pick, and they traded the 62nd selection to the Packers for a pair of picks (Nos. 90 and 163) before closing it out with Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette at No. 90.
The 163rd selection is the Patriots’ lone pick Saturday.
For reference, the Patriots have picks in the first, second, third, fourth and seventh rounds in 2013. So if they’re looking to trade up, that’s their currency.
That’s it for me on the blog. Stay with NESN.com for complete coverage from the draft’s second night, and we’ll see you Saturday.
10:45 p.m.: The Patriots took Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette with the 90th pick. Good selection. He was a four-year starter who can tackle well and get to the passer. He had 10 sacks last season.
10:36 p.m.: The Saints are on the clock with the 89th pick, and the Patriots will follow at No. 90. Miami running back Lamar Miller, Arkansas wide receiver Joe Adams, Boise State safety George Iloka, Nebraska cornerback Alfonzo Dennard and Oklahoma outside linebacker Ronnell Lewis are among the notable players still on the board.
10:20 p.m.: The third round is moving along, and the Patriots will be up in less than 10 picks. Very curious to see where they go with the 90th pick after such a shocker at No. 48.
9:50 p.m.: Here’s my draft profile of Tavon Wilson if you’re looking for a little more insight on the 48th overall pick.
9:32 p.m.: The Rams made another good pick, selecting Montana cornerback Trumaine Johnson in the third round. A few picks earlier, the Eagles kept their defensive mojo going by taking Marshall defensive end Vinny Curry. Two NFC teams doing good things.
9:08 p.m.: The Patriots sent the 62nd pick to the Packers for the 90th (third round) and 163rd (fifth) selections. The 90th pick will happen Friday night, but No. 163 will wait until Saturday.
9:06 p.m.: The Patriots traded the 62nd pick to the Packers. No other details yet.
9:02 p.m.: Tavon Wilson just had his conference call with the New England media. He’s an impressive kid who has gone through a ton in his life. Wilson has played both cornerback and safety, and he was given the choice of his position as a senior. Because Illinois was stronger at safety, he wanted to play corner because he thought it was in the team’s best interest, so that’s a good sign.
8:33 p.m.: If you’re looking for info on Tavon Wilson, check out this story from 2009. It’s unbelievable stuff. His father was murdered when he was 1, and his mother drowned at a pool party when he was 12.
8:25 p.m.: The Packers drafted Michigan State defensive tackle Jerel Worthy. Some people like him (I do), and others don’t.
Anyway, Tavon Wilson didn’t even get invited to the combine. ESPN listed him as their 24th-ranked safety.
8:14 p.m.: I’d love to tell you all about Tavon Wilson, but he’s an unknown. Draft guru Greg Cosell tweeted that he didn’t even watch film on Wilson and knows nothing about him.
8:11 p.m.: The Patriots have selected Illinois safety Tavon Wilson with the 48th pick. Interesting. Completely off my radar.
8:05 p.m.: The Seahawks’ pick has been submitted (no idea who it is), so the Patriots are on the clock at No. 48. Decisions, decisions.
8:02 p.m.: The Eagles took Cal linebacker Mychal Kendricks with the 46th pick. Nice pick. They’re really improving their defense in the draft.
The Patriots are two picks away. If they stand pat, there’s a lot of talent left on the board.
7:56 p.m.: The Bears grabbed South Carolina wide receiver Alshon Jeffery with the 45th pick. So much talent, but can he be good in the NFL? I’m not sure. At the very least, it’s another weapon for Jay Cutler.
7:48 p.m.: The Jets finished a run of three straight AFC East teams by trading up to take Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill, who had 49 career receptions in college. I’ve been told the Jets really do believe in Sanchez, and they think he can be better with some receivers who can gain seperation. Maybe that’s Hill in another year, but I don’t see it happening this early. Strange pick, in my opinion.
7:45 p.m.: There’s a run on offensive linemen. Miami took Stanford right tackle Jonathan Martin, who has a bunch of potential but needs to get tougher. Remember when the Dolphins couldn’t sign Peyton Manning, Matt Flynn and Eric Winston? Well, now they’ve spent their first two picks on a quarterback and right tackle. That’s the price of losing in free agency.
7:42 p.m.: Ron Rivera is running quite the program in Carolina. After taking Luke Kuechly in the first round, he landed Midwestern State guard Amini Silatolu with the 40th pick. Silatolu is a mean guard who instantly boosts the offensive line. I was kind of surprised he wasn’t taken by the 49ers in the first round.
The Bills had another good pick, too, taking Georgia tackle Cordy Glenn with the 41st pick. I thought Glenn had the potential to go in the top 20.
There are a lot of teams having some good drafts.
7:35 p.m.: I’ll be writing about both players shortly, but Dont’a Hightower and Chandler Jones were very impressive individual during their introductory news conferences. Hightower is extremely confident, and he’s got a swagger about him. He’ll add an edge to New England’s defense.
Jones has an infectious personality. He was constantly smiling, joking and laughing. He also noted that he was at his brother, Jon’s, house before flying out to Boston, and he didn’t realize he had to wear a suit to Gillette Stadium. So Jones took some of his brother’s clothes for the event.
7:32 p.m.: And there goes Janoris Jenkins, who was taken 39th by the Rams. Head coach Jeff Fisher has no problems taking risky players, so it seemed like a natural fit, especially since the Rams own half of the second round.
So much for Jenkins going to the Patriots. I would have liked to see what would have happened if Jenkins was there when the Patriots were on the clock. It would have been really insightful to their thought process, to state the obvious.
7:28 p.m.: I like what the Jaguars are doing in the draft. After trading up for Justin Blackmon in the first round, they grabbed Clemson defensive end Andre Branch with the 38th pick. The Jags have addressed two major needs right off the bat.
7:19 p.m.: All right, I’m back at it. I can’t say I know a ton about Brian Quick, but that’s an interesting pick for the Rams to start the second round. They obviously need a wide receiver or five, so that gets the process going. Interesting that they left Rueben Randle, Stephen Hill and a few others on the board, though.
The Colts followed it up by reuniting Andrew Luck with Stanford tight end Coby Fleener, who is almost a natural replacement for Dallas Clark. That should help Luck’s adjustment period, for sure.
The Ravens have to be thrilled with getting Courtney Upshaw at No. 34. It’s surprising Upshaw fell so far, and it sounds like there’s some question about his natural position, if there is one. But you know the Ravens are going to use him the right way.
7:03 p.m.: The second round is about to start, but Dont’a Hightower and Chandler Jones are meeting with the media. I’ll get back to the live blogging as soon as this is done.
6:26 p.m.: Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower showed off their No. 1 jerseys on the field a few minutes ago. Here’s a photo of the action.
5:46 p.m.: The fewest picks the Patriots have ever used in a draft is six, which happened in 2002. They could set a new mark this weekend.
5:25 p.m.: Just got back to Gillette Stadium for the second night of the draft. Dont’a Hightower and Chandler Jones will meet with the media at 6 p.m., and the second round starts at 7.
There’s still a ton of talent available, so it’s going to be interesting to see how the Patriots plan to maneuver around the board. Do they keep going for it? Or do they recoup some of their picks by trading down? Because they hit it out of the park on the first night, they shouldn’t feel pressured Friday. They’re in a good spot.
For a breakdown at what the Patriots are looking at Friday, check out my story here.
8 a.m.: The Patriots got off to an ideal start during the first round of the NFL draft, but they’ve got more work to do as they shift their focus toward day two.
The second and third rounds happen Friday. If the Patriots keep their picks, they’ll be done early. They’ve only got two picks left — Nos. 48 and 62 — in the entire draft. Friday’s action starts at 7 p.m., and teams will have seven minutes to make their selections.
New England’s first-round picks, Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower, will also be at Gillette Stadium on Friday, so it will be a busy day for the team. Stay with NESN.com’s live blog through it all to stay up to speed.
Have a question for Jeff Howe? Send it to him via Twitter at @jeffphowe or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.
