Louis Riddick ‘Can See Why’ Patriots Drafted Cole Strange In First Round

ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick must have watched the same tape of Cole Strange that New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick did.

While other pundits believed the Patriots reached in selecting Strange at No. 29 overall in the first round of Thursday’s NFL draft, Riddick understood why the Patriots didn’t try to wait things out even longer when selecting the offensive lineman out of Tennessee-Chattanooga.

“I got to tell you this, you throw on (the) tape against Kentucky, against an SEC defense,” Riddick said on the ESPN telecast, “he whipped them for 60 minutes. This is a guy who has a bar down the middle of his facemask. Old school. No tape on his hands.

“I can see why Bill looked at this and goes, ‘I want that guy.'”

In the game in which Riddick referred to, the Mocs nearly pulled off an upset win on the road over the Wildcats as the 6-foot-6, 301-pound Strange helped Chattanooga amass 339 yards of total offense, with 171 of it coming on the ground.

New England’s first pick was originally slated to come at No. 21 overall, but the Patriots moved back eight slots in a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs that netted them an extra third- and fourth-round pick.