7:31 p.m.: The Falcons grabbed Kemal Ishmael and Zeke Motta back-to-back, Brandon Hepburn went to the Lions, Carter Bykowski wound up with the 49ers, the Ravens finished with Marc Anthony, cornerback out of Cal, the Titans grabbed Daimion Stafford, the Falcons took Duke quarterback Sean Renfree, the Dolphins drafted Arkansas State safety Don Jones, the Bengals drafted South Carolina center T.J. Johnson, the 49ers took a Rutgers player the Patriots passed on, cornerback Marcus Cooper, the 49ers took UMass running back Michael Cox and the Colts grabbed Mr. Irrelevant, South Carolina tight end Justice Cunningham.
That’ll do it for me here with the live blog. It was an interesting draft. The nine offensive linemen taken in the first round really threw things off a bit. Overall, this will go down as a solid, but likely unspectacular draft due to the lack of premier skill position players.
One thing that can definitely be said is that this draft was stacked with depth. There will be starters well into the fourth and fifth round.
The Patriots wound up with Southern Miss defensive end/linebacker Jamie Collins, Marshall wide receiver Aaron Dobson, Rutgers cornerback Logan Ryan, Rutgers safety Duron Harmon, TCU wide receiver Josh Boyce, Illinois defensive end Michael Buchanan and Rutgers linebacker Steve Beauharnais.
Now the rookie free agents will sign. I recommend you turn to NEPatriotsDraft.com for the latest on those signings, though we’ll keep you updated on NESN.com with all the Patriots signings.
7:07 p.m.: The 49ers took South Florida quarterback B.J. Daniels at No. 237 for some reason, then the Ravens took Elon wideout Aaron Mellette, Philly took David King, the Bengals took Ohio State tackle Reid Fragel and the Seahawks took New Hampshire defensive tackle Jared Smith and Northeastern State offensive lineman Michael Bowie No. 241 and 242 respectively.
6:47 p.m.: Steve Beauharnais is an agile linebacker who might be able to help out in coverage, but at the very least he’s smart and he’ll play special teams. That makes three Rutgers guys for the Patriots in this draft.
Washington State wideout Marquess Wilson just went to the Bears. He quit the Cougars midway through the 2012 season, but he’s a fantastic player.
6:45 p.m.: The Patriots have drafted Rutgers linebacker Steve Beauharnais No. 235 overall.
The Seahawks took linebacker Ty Powell, the Packers took South Florida outside linebacker Sam Barrington, the Raiders drafted Missouri Western defensive end David Bass and the Broncos grabbed Miami of Ohio quarterback Zac Dysert (finally).
6:30 p.m.: Here are the picks we missed: Packers took Kevin Dorsey, Giants took Eric Herman, Browns took Garrett Gilkey, Redskins took Jawan Jamison, Vikings took Everett Dawkins and the Colts took Utah State running back Kerwynn Williams.
6:24 p.m.: Buchanan is an incredible value at No. 226. He’s the prototypical size for a Patriots defensive end and he’ll be great depth behind Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich, Jamie Collins, Justin Francis, Jermaine Cunningham, Jake Bequette, etc.
Buchanan had 14 sacks and 26 tackles for loss at Illinois. He ran an unofficial 4.71 40-yard dash at the combine with an incredible 6.91-second 3-cone drill. He’s 6-foot-5, 255 pounds.
6:21 p.m.: Six hours after their last pick, the Patriots have selected Illinois defensive end Michael Buchanan.
6:14 p.m.: You want some more picks? We’ll give you some more picks. Seattle grabbed Ryan Seymour at No. 220, San Diego took Southern Utah quarterback Brad Sorensen No. 221 overall, Buffalo took Chris Gragg and the Steelers got Samford defensive tackle Nick Williams. The Packers are on the board, then the Giants, then the Patriots.
6:03 p.m.: Jordan Poyer gets his own post.
The Oregon State cornerback finally went No. 218 to the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s a cornerback in the same mold of Cortland Finnegan. He’ll get your in a wide receiver’s face and annoy the crud out of them.
Poyer certainly wasn’t my favorite player in this class, but he could have been gone by the fourth round. It’s shocking to see him last this long. There must be something that we don’t know.
Charles Johnson also went to Green Bay and Armonty Bryant went to Cleveland. And we’ll add this one in too, D.C. Jefferson just went to the Cardinals with pick No. 219. Sorry Bill Belichick, a Rutgers tight end sounds like a natural Patriot.
5:57 p.m.: It definitely feels nice to be midway through the seventh round, right? Here’s the picks we missed: Demetrius McCray went to Jacksonville, Alabama tight end Michael Williams went to Detroit, Paul Kruger’s brother, Joe, was taken by the Eagles, Penn State linebacker Michael Mauti, who had three torn ACLs in college, was taken by the Vikings, Minnesota also took UNC guard Travis Bond at No. 215 and Tommy Bohanan went to the Jets at pick No. 215.
There are 39 picks to go. Let’s get through this together.
5:36 p.m.: Lets go through the list again: Oakland took Oklahoma defensive tackle Stacy McGee, the Steelers drafted Florida State linebacker Vince Williams, Kansas City took Princeton DE Mike Catapano, Jacksonville grabbed Jeremy Harris, a cornerback out of New Mexico State and the Raiders drafted Brice Butler, wide receiver from San Diego State.
Some of those big names are still out there. It certainly wouldn’t be shocking to see the Patriots take one or two of them. Some nice quarterbacks are still there, too.
5:25 p.m.: After Baca, Arkansas wideout Cobi Hamilton went to the Bengals, Chris Jones went to the Texans, Notre Dame running back Theo Riddick was drafted by the Lions, Notre Dame linebacker Kapron Lewis-Moore, who tore his ACL in the national championship game, went to the Ravens, UConn tight end Ryan Griffin went to the Texans, Khalid Wooten to the Titans, Ryan Jensen was taken by the Ravens and fullback Braden Wilson is a Chief. Just two picks remain in the sixth round. The Patriots hold two picks in the seventh round and there are plenty of quality players left.
You would have to think Oregon State corner Jordan Poyer will be off the board soon, Tennessee Tech wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers has taken a hard far, Miami quarterback Zac Dysert, Washington State wideout Marquess Wilson, England’s Lawrence Okoye, Ohio State’s Reid Fragel and Rutgers products Steve Beauharnais and Mark Harrison should all be nice pros. Arizona quarterback Matt Scott, Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray and Illinois defensive end Michael Buchanan are all surprisingly still available. I would have expected Braden Brown to be gone by now as well.
4:59 p.m.: We have some “big” names coming off the board here late in the sixth round. A bunch of running backs just came off the board. Mike James of Miami went to Tampa Bay at No. 189, Rex Burkhead of Nebraska went to Cinci at No. 190 and Spencer Ware went to Seattle at No. 194.
Georgia safety Baccari Rambo went No. 191 to the Redskins, Oregon safety John Boyett of Oregon went No. 192, Illinois State linebacker Nate Plamer went to Green Bay, Jacksonville State wide receiver Alan Bonner went to Houston and UCLA guard Jeff Baca went to the Vikings.
It was surprising to see Ware go before the other LSU running back, Mike Ford. I thought Ford was the better player with the Tigers.
4:42 p.m.: Rufus Johnson went to the Saints, Tennessee tight end Mychal Rivera was drafted by the Raiders No. 184 overall, South Carolina linebacker DeVonte Holloman went to the Cowboys, Oklahoma wideout Justin Brown went to the Steelers, Clemson running back Andre Ellington was stolen by the Cardinals and Georgia defensive end Cornelius Washington fell all the way to the Bears.
Ellington and Washington were huge steals. Ellington is a small back who packs the punch of a 230-pounder, while Washington is a freak athlete. He was put in a rough situation his senior year with the Bulldogs, playing out of position as a five-tech defensive end. He’s a natural seven-tech or nine-tech. If given that opportunity with the Bears, he’ll get after the passer. He’s a very dangerous pass rusher.
4:22 p.m.: Lets go back to the draft here, the Jets took Michigan defensive tackle William Campbell, who they want to switch to guard reportedly, San Diego took Tourek Williams, San Fran took Nick Moody and Oakland and Carolina took running backs, Latavius Murray and Kenjon Barner respectively. Both are burners.
4:15 p.m.: Trying to go the track and football route wasn’t going to work in New England (I’m surprised it will fly in Tampa Bay). The Pats pulled LaGarrette Blount back in the deal, who is no guarantee to make the team. New England is sending pick No. 229.
4:11 p.m.: The Patriots have rid themselves of Jeff Demps. They traded Demps and a seventh-round pick for LaGarrette Blount, according to Shalize Manza Young of the Boston Globe.
4:00 p.m.: Kansas City grabbed Eric Kush out of California PA, Virginia Tech wideout Corey Fuller went to the Lions, Colorado tight end Nick Kasa got drafted by Oakland, Ryan Swope, a slot receiver out of Texas A&M, went to Arizona, Notre Dame safety Jamoris Slaughter went to Mike Lombardi and the Browns, San Jose State offensive lineman David Quessenberry went to the Texans and Florida State kicker Dustin Hopkins went to the Bills.
Quessenberry is a great value in the sixth round. He reportedly shined at the Senior Bowl.
3:41 p.m.: We’re on to the sixth round! Just two more left, folks. I’m fading a bit over here, but a little bit of coffee will get me going again.
After Mills, the Dolphins added Florida running back Mike Gillislee, the Lions grabbed punter Sam Martin, the Dolphins added kicker Calbe Sturgis, the Packers drafted Josh Boyd, the Ravens took rackle Ricky Wagner and the Jaguars drafted the other Florida safety, Josh Evans.
Pretty fun to see three specialists going to early.
3:20 p.m.: Robert Griffin III was just shown on NFL Network hopping up and down on his surgically repaired knee for Redskins fans at the draft party. It’s nice to see that leg is healing up well.
Vandy running back Zac Stacy went to St. Louis at No. 160 overlal, Georgia wideout Tavarres King went No. 161 to Denver and Florida State pass rusher Brandon Jenkins went to the Redskins. All three are very nice value picks.
Jenkins was the starter over Tank Carradine before suffering a lisfranc injury. He didn’t show up very well in his pro day, but lisfranc injuries take a while to get over.
The Bears also just added offensive tackle Jordan Mills.
3:10 p.m.: The Falcons took Stansly Maponga No. 153 overall, he was followed by Chris Thompson to Washington, punter Jeff Locke to Minnesota, Tanner Hawkinson to the Bengals, Quinton Dial to San Francisco, Rice tight end Luke Wilson to Seattle and cornerback Micah Hyde to Green Bay.
There’s no word if Wilson is an “Old School” tight end.
2:59 p.m.: Here’s some fun Patriots news: Jeff Demps could be traded soon, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. His time with the Patriots was limited after he said he only wanted to play football part time in order to return to a track and field career.
The Patriots lack a fifth- and sixth-round pick. They have three seventh-round selections.
2:51 p.m.: After Stills, Cal CB Steve Williams went to San Diego, the Broncos took Western Kentucky defensive end Quanterus Smith, Tampa Bay took Steven Means, Carolina chose Iowa State linebacker A.J. Klein, the Rams selected speedy Miami cornerback Brandon McGee, Pittsburgh took cornerback Terry Hawthorne and Dallas grabbed Oklahoma running back Joseph Randle. The Giants just grabbed safety Cooper Taylor of Richmond, as well.
Of those picks, Smith, McGee and Randle are all great values. Klein probably could have gone a round earlier, too.
Smith tore his ACL as a senior. Had he stayed healthy, he could have been a first- or second-round pick.
2:35 p.m.: Here’s an update on picks since Simon: Indy took Montori Hughes, Arizona took running back Stepfan Taylor, the Jets took tackle Okay Aboushi, Tennessee took LSU DE Lavar Edwards, Buffalo took Jonathan Meeks and New Orleans took Oklahoma speedy WR Kenny Stills.
2:08 p.m.: Jesse Williams fell hard in the draft, but he’s going to a great situation in Seattle. The Alabama DT went No. 137 overall after being projected as a first- or second-round player.
Earl Wolff went to Philly at No. 136.
The Seahawks also took cornerback Tharold Simon out of LSU. Simon was arrested for threatening a police officer on Thursday night. He didn’t experience the same fall that Alfonzo Dennard did last year.
2:02 p.m.: The Jaguars drafted a quarterback — a college quarterback. Denard Robinson is going to Jacksonville as a running back, which is the right position for him.
That’s an exciting pick right there. He could be an explosive player in the NFL. He was one of the best rushers in the NCAA as a quarterback.
South Carolina DE Devin Taylor went to Detroit at No. 132, Stanford TE Levine Toiolo went to Atlanata at No. 133 and Georgia cornerback Sanders Commings went No. 134 to KC.
1:48 p.m.: Marcus Lattimore is off the board, and of course he’s going to San Francisco. The 49ers have had quite a draft so far.
Harvard fullback Kyle Juszczyk went to the Ravens, as did Ohio State linebacker/defensive end John Simon.
The 49ers have now taken Eric Reid, Tank Carradine, Vance McDonald, Corey Lemonier, Quinton Patton and now Lattimore, who tore two ACLs while at South Carolina.
1:39 p.m.: The 49ers get another “steal” by taking Quinton Patton No. 128 overall. It’s a nice pick, but Da’Rick Rogers is by far the best wide receiver out there.
Tampa Bay drafted William Gholston No. 126 overall and the Falcons took Clemson defensive end Malliciah Goodman at No. 127. Both players have the right size, but never produced much in college.
1:30 p.m.: The Packers pulled a Patriots by doubling up on running backs. They got Eddie Lacy in the second round and now Johnathan Franklin in the fourth with pick No. 125.
The Texans continued a nice draft by grabbing Trevardo Williams No. 124 overall. Williams is a UConn pass rusher. Houston has also added DeAndre Hopkins, D.J. Swearinger, Brennan Williams and Sam Montgomery.
1:21 p.m.: At No. 120, the Vikings took their first pick since the first round in Gerald Hodges. After that pick, the Colts took USC center Khaled Holmes, Green Bay took Cornell guard J.C. Tretter and Seattle took Kansas State wideout Chris Harper at No. 123.
1:09 p.m.: After Jones went off the board, the Cardinals grabbed guard Earl Watford out of James Madison, the Bears grabbed another linebacker, Khaseem Greene from Rutgers and Texas A&M linebacker Sean Porter went to the Bengals at No. 118 overall. All three are nice picks and nice fits.
The Redskins just grabbed safety Phillip Thomas out of Fresno State at No. 119. He was a favorite of many analysts. He’s a nice fit at free safety for Washington.
1:00 p.m.: The quarterback run continues. Landy Jones goes No. 115 to the Steelers. The Steelers have finally got younger at the backup quarterback spot that’s been manned by Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch forever.
12:56 p.m.: The Rams added Alabama offensive lineman Barrett Jones. He played every position on the line for the Crimson Tide, and excelled at all of them. He’s probably a guard or center in the NFL. Right guard will likely be his position.
B.W. Webb of William & Mary went No. 114 to the Cowboys. You could probably argue that’s a better player than Dallas took in the first round, center Travis Frederick.
12:53 p.m.: Shamarko Thomas went No. 111 to the Steelers, then the quarterback run continued as the Raiders took undersized gamer Tyler Wilson of Arkansas.
Wilson was part of a terrible 2012 Razorbacks team, but he’s described as tough by every single draft analyst. Nice draft so far by the Raiders.
12:46 p.m.: Draft analyst favorite, Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib is finally off the board. He went to the Giants No. 110 overall.
Here are the rest of the picks after Williams went No. 105: Michigan State TE Dion Sims went No. 106 to Miami, Cal OC Brian Schwenke went No. 107 to Tennessee, Valdosta State OG Edmund Kugbila went No. 108 to Carolina, Colorado OT David Bakhtiari went No. 109 to Green Bay.
12:32 p.m.: Troubled safety Duke Williams went No. 105 to the Bills. He’s been arrested multiple times for serious infractions. Very talented player, though.
It’s surprising to see Williams go before Da’Rick Rogers, the wide receiver out of Tennessee Tech. Williams’ off-field issues are more serious and Rogers is the better player.
12:28 p.m.: A couple of defenders went off the board after the Patriots’ pick. Alex Okafor went to Arizona. Okafor is a Texas pass rusher. Jelani Jenkins went to the Dolphins. Jenkins is an athletic Florida linebacker.
12:25 p.m.: It’s nice to see New England take a player we’ve heard of and watched. He’s a slot receiver out of TCU and destroyed teh combine with a 4.34-second 40-yard dash and 6.68-second 3-cone time. The Patriots have got to love that 3-cone agility.
Boyce can play the Z-receiver role, or the slot. He’s fast and shifty, but had some injuries. He piled up 2,535 yards and 22 touchdowns at TCU in three seasons. He left after his junior year in 2012.
12:20 p.m.: With the No. 102 overall pick, the Patriots select Josh Boyce.
12:18 p.m.: The Jaguars took slot receiver/punt returner Ace Sanders and the Patriots are on the clock.
12:16 p.m.: Akeem Spence was the pick for the Buccaneers. He’s a talented player, but there have been some questions about his motor.
12:14 p.m.: The Buccaneers have traded up with the Raiders for pick No. 100. We’ll see what they moved up for here. They went up 12 spots.
12:11 p.m.: The Chiefs have selected an Alabama linebacker, Nico Johnson. He’s a big bodied hole filler and he’ll likely never be a three-down player, but that’s not what the Chiefs needed. Johnson could probably step in right away at inside linebacker next to Derrick Johnson.
It’s possible the Chiefs wanted Barkley, which is why the Eagles had to trade up.
12:07 p.m.: It’s Matt Barkley. That’s a surprise for Chip Kelly’s offense, but he was likely the best player available. He’s finally off the board.
12:04 p.m.: The Eagles have traded up for the No. 1 pick in the fourth round. We could see a quarterback here for Philadelphia. Matt Scott from Arizona would be a good fit in Chip Kelly’s offense. He wide receiver-esque agility at the combine.
11:56 a.m.: Adam Schefter is saying the No. 1 pick in the fourth round is up for grabs. If a team wants to move up for a quarterback, now’s their chance.
The Jaguars could just be gauging interest in teams that want quarterbacks, as well. Jacksonville only has Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne on the roster.
11:52 a.m.: We’re 1o minutes away from the start of Day 3, could the Jaguars be leaning towards a quarterback here? Matt Barkley, Ryan Nassib, Matt Scott, Zac Dysert and Tyler Bray are all available.
11:30 a.m.: It seems like everyone’s being overly critical of the Jets’ move to draft Geno Smith in the second round. What’s the problem here?
New York needed a quarterback, did they not? Sure, they already had five on the roster, but did anyone think that Mark Sanchez, David Garrard, Greg McElroy, Tim Tebow or Matt Simms had earned the job without competition? Of course not.
Several teams had said they considered taking Smith in the first round, but passed, including the Jets. New York took him in the second round and all of a sudden it’s a bad move because he may not be NFL ready?
People are just afraid to admit that the Jets have had a nice draft. They took Dee Milliner to get help at cornerback after losing Darrelle Revis, they grabbed Sheldon Richardson to help their interior pass rush and they filled their need at guard with Brian Winter of Kent State. Smith may be looked at as a luxury pick, but it shouldn’t be. And even if Smith is this year’s Jimmy Clausen, who cares? It’s a second-round pick. Missing on a second-rounder when you’ve already drafted two quality first-rounders and an underrated third-rounder isn’t going to sink a franchise.
Anyone who thinks this means the Jets won’t compete in 2013 obviously hasn’t been paying attention anyway. New York wasn’t going anywhere next season anyway, and at least the team has some hope for the future.
There are plenty of talented players to take with New York’s remaining three picks, as well. If they want to finally fill their need at outside linebacker, Cornelius Washington of Georgia could be waiting for them. If not, Alex Okafor, Brandon Jenkins, Chase Thomas, John Simon, Michael Buchanan and Quanterus Smith are still out there.
People are acting like it’s crazy that New York has six quarterbacks. Yes, it’s a lot, but obviously all of those players won’t be there come Week 1. It’s not unusual to carry four or five QBs into training camp.
Tebow will likely be gone soon, Simms will likely be gone soon, and if the Jets can eat the cap penalty, Sanchez could be too. So lets not just pile on to the Jets because they’re the Jets. New York has had a quality draft.
9:55 a.m. ET: It’s been a fast two days, hasn’t it?
The NFL draft will conclude this afternoon, and we expect to see some quarterbacks start coming off the board at a quicker pace. Just three signal callers have been taken so far — E.J. Manuel, Geno Smith and Mike Glennon. There are still some quality players left, like Ryan Nassib out of Syracuse, Matt Barkley from USC and Arkansas’ Tyler Wilson. Arizona’s Matt Scott may come off the board soon as well, as he’s the next best athletic passer in this class.
Every player left, though, seems to have a fatal flaw. For Barkley, it’s his arm strength. For Wilson, it’s his height and poor senior season. Those fatal flaws extend past just the quarterbacks too. Alabama defensive tackle Jesse Williams has a knee injury that has forced him to fall and talented wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers’ off-field issues made him tunble out of the first three rounds. For Washington State wideout Marquess Wilson, it was quitting the Cougars midway through the 2012 season that could see him fall all the way to the seventh round.
Georgia defensive end Cornelius Washington has incredible athleticism that rivals players like Ezekiel Ansah, Jamie Collins and Dion Jordan, but his lack of production with the Bulldogs has hurt him. Cornerback Jordan Poyer of Oregon State has speed and size issues that has seen him tumble.
Obviously perfect players will no longer be available in the fourth round, but there are plenty of salvageable players left that could shine in the right situation if given the chance. The Patriots could look to draft offensive line, defensive line or another tight end or wide receiver.
Some players that New England may be interested in are any of the players listed above, but also offensive lineman Barrett Jones of Alabama, South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore, tight end Jake Stoneburner of Ohio State or really any Rutgers player left, including linebacker Khaseem Greene, wide receiver Mark Harrison or linebacker Steve Beauharnais.
Jacksonville is up first, followed by the Chiefs, Raiders, Eagles and Patriots. New England holds that pick and two seventh rounders to finish out the draft.
It all starts at noon, so stay here for all the picks and analysis.
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