Pats pad offensive depth
Take RBs, new QB on Day 3 of draft
Two running backs, a quarterback, one troubled corner and a whole lot of offensive depth.
The Patriots made all seven of their scheduled selections Saturday, the final day of the 2022 NFL Draft. The Pats opened with a surprise, adding Arizona State cornerback Jack Jones in the fourth round at 121st overall.
Jones is a 5-foot-10, 177pound cover man with excellent ball skills who projects initially as a nickelback. He grabbed three interceptions, forced three fumbles and batted away six other passes last season. Jones visited New England pre-draft, and clocked prototypical times for a Patriots corner at his Pro Day, running a 4.50 in the 40-yard dash and a 6.90 in the 3-cone.
Jones and Houston’s Marcus Jones, a third-round pick, are now expected to bolster the team’s secondary.
Jack Jones played three seasons at Arizona State, where he came off the bench in 2019, missed most of an abbreviated 2020 season for fighting in practice and started in 2021. Jones transferred to Arizona State in 2019, following a one-year stop at junior college and two initial seasons at USC. A former five-star recruit, he left USC in the spring of 2018 after being ruled ineligible academically and dealing with off-field issues.
That spring, he pleaded guilty to a second-degree misdemeanor charge of commercial burglary and served 45 days of house arrest after allegedly breaking into a Panda Express. Because of his off-field concerns, most media draft evaluators viewed Jones as a sixth or seventh-round prospect.
Six picks later, the Pats added the draft’s fastest running back in South Dakota State’s Pierre Strong. The 5-foot-11, 203-pounder recorded the top 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine at 4.37 seconds. He’s a home-run hitter, who averaged 7.2 yards per carry in college, mostly against FCS competition.
But Strong also showed out against FBS Colorado State last year, rushing 13 times for 138 yards and two touchdowns. He later met with Patriots running back coach Vinnie Sunseri during the draft process, and said Saturday he’s studied film of Damien Harris.
“I just know New England can run the football and run it well, so, that’s great to hear, great news for a running back,” Strong said. “So let’s get to work.
Strong is a also two-time captain and reliable receiver, who might replace veteran James White in the coming years. The chief question about his game is fumbling, after he lost the ball five times in 2021. Strong now joins White, Harris, Rhamondre Stevenson, J.J. Taylor and Devin Ozigbo on the team’s depth chart, plus another rookie, sixth-rounder Kevin Harris.
Harris went 183rd overall, following a three-year stint at South Carolina. He stands at 5-foot-10 and 221 pounds, a straightforward bruiser who rushed for 4.3 yards per carry last season after undergoing back surgery. However in 2020, he led the SEC in rushing and averaged more than 100 yards per game.
Harris ran a 4.62 in the 40yard dash and has little make-or-miss ability, but also comes with zero ballsecurity concerns. He fumbled once in college, while scoring 23 touchdowns and making 16 starts over his career.
Between the two running back picks, the Pats may have found their next longterm backup quarterback in Western Kentucky’s Bailey Zappe.
Zappe was a historically productive passer in college, who broke multiple FBS records. He completed 69.2% of his passes for 5,967 yards, 62 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season. But at 6-foot and 215 pounds with unremarkable arm strength, scouts see Zappe as a lifelong backup who relies entirely on his pre-snap processing, touch and accuracy.
After drafting Harris with the first of three sixth-round picks, the Patriots reached into the Div. II level to select Northwest Missouri State defensive lineman Sam Roberts. Roberts is a 6-foot-4, 293-pound power rusher, who won the 2021 Cliff Harris award as the best defender outside of Div. I. He tallied 6.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss last year.
He was the only defensive lineman the Patriots drafted. According to The Athletic, Robert was originally supposed to enroll as an offensive lineman, but flipped to defense because the program ran out of scholarships. After redshirting in 2016, he broke out for six sacks in 2018, recorded five the following season and had his 2020 season canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over his career, Roberts blocked five kicks and finished as a first-team Division II All-American. He is a lifelong Patriots fan.
“It seems like it’s a little fairytale ending almost. You grow up watching this team and then they end up picking you in the draft. It’s just like, wow,” Roberts told reporters. “I’m at a loss for words, and it’s been like two hours now.”
The Patriots’ final sixthround pick became LSU offensive lineman Chasen Hines, a 6-foot-3, 327-pounder with long arms. Hines started 16 games at right guard the past two seasons and previously gained experience as a backup center and left guard.
Hines flipped from defense to offense in 2018, indicating he has untapped potential as a blocker, particularly considering the explosion he displayed posting top marks in the vertical and broad jumps at the NFL Combine. Last year, the 22year-old committed just a single penalty in eight games.
If he makes the team,
Hines projects as a backup for new starting right guard Mike Onwenu, with firstround rookie Cole Strange starting at left guard.
Inside the team’s offensive line room, Strange and Hines will have more rookie company, thanks to the Patriots’ final pick, Michigan offensive tackle Andrew Stueber. A 6-foot-7, 325pound right tackle, Stueber made the All-American second team last year and started for two seasons at Michigan.
He’s also played right guard, where some evaluators believe he’ll stick in the pros. Stueber, a Connecticut native who grew up a Patriots fan, drew high praise from ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay during the network’s telecast.
“I’ve just got a feeling about this guy. … Something about him and the way he’s always doing the right thing, he’s going to hang around for a while,” McShay said.