Pats go to Rivers edge
Nab Youngstown St. DE in third round
FOXBORO — The Patriots have indeed fulfilled their offseason priority of getting younger on the defensive edge.
After a bit of a delay last night, trading out of their initial third-round draft pick, the Pats landed Youngstown State defensive end Derek Rivers.
“I was shaking. It was an overwhelming feeling,” Rivers said of the draft call. “It was awesome, a blessing.”
The 6-foot-4, 248-pounder was dominant for the Penguins over his final three seasons with 36 sacks, 52 tackles for loss and 160 total tackles. He put an exclamation point on his collegiate development as a senior with 14 sacks, 19.5 tackles for loss and 58 total tackles, all of which were career highs.
Rivers is an intriguing talent who will face an adjustment in the NFL due to the big jump in talent from a smaller school, but there’s no denying he has been viewed as one of the best edge rushers in a strong class on the end of the line. His stock really exploded at the Senior Bowl when he was one of the most noticeable players of the All-Star week.
The Patriots showed Rivers a lot of pre-draft interest, including a visit and a meeting with coach Bill Belichick and the defensive staff.
“It was awesome,” Rivers said. “I love coach Belichick. I love everything that he is and what he stands for and how he coaches, his demeanor. He’s an awesome dude. I can learn a lot from him.”
The Patriots bypassed similarly graded pass rushers by executing a trade with the Tennessee Titans to move down from No. 72 to No. 83 to take Rivers. In doing so, the Pats landed the 124th pick, which they then wheeled with the 96th selection to move up to No. 85 to draft Troy offensive tackle Antonio Garcia.
By moving down, the Patriots bypassed edge rushers such as Kansas State’s Jordan Willis (No. 73, Cincinnati Bengals), Michigan’s Chris Wormley (No. 74, Baltimore Ravens), Texas A&M’s Daeshon Hall (No. 77, Carolina Panthers), Alabama’s Tim Williams (No. 78, Ravens) and Ohio’s Tarell Basham (No. 80, Indianapolis Colts).
Belichick will never unveil how that run of pass rushers impacted the Patriots, but Rivers’ credentials speak for themselves. Rivers dominated a lower level but validated his athletic ability in the offseason circuit, and he noted that he wound up at Youngstown State because he was a late bloomer. It also didn’t help that he was a non-qualifier out of high school due to SAT scores and initially attended Fork Union Military Academy.
But Rivers preached his work ethic has always set him apart and vowed to continue that trend with the Patriots. He is also understandably ecstatic to join the defending Super Bowl champions.
“It’s awesome,” Rivers said. “I’m super excited. There’s just so much I can learn from those guys that were there (at Super Bowl LI), the commitment those guys have, the type of culture that is in that locker room. I’m just ready to learn from those guys and get better with those guys.”
Rivers joins Trey Flowers, Rob Ninkovich and Kony Ealy as pure defensive ends on the depth chart. The Patriots have also added versatile defensive lineman Lawrence Guy, who is more of an interior presence with the ability to kick outside, and linebackers Kyle Van Noy and Shea McClellin can also play on the line.
In free agency, the Pats amicably moved on from defensive ends Jabaal Sheard and Chris Long. The team wanted to get younger and are cognizant that 33-yearold Ninkovich is in the final year of his contract.
As long as Rivers develops the way the Patriots project, he’ll help Flowers usher in a new generation on the defensive front.
“Played competitively in the All-Star games,” Belichick said. “I think Derek has been in a good system. He’s been well-coached. Even though he is from a smaller school, we’ll see what he can do here for himself.”