Patriots NFL Draft Day 2 Highlights: Pats Trade Up For 85th Pick, Draft OT Antonio Garcia
BOSTON (CBS) -- Follow along for all the Patriots-related information from Day 2 of the NFL Draft.
10:49 p.m.: That will conclude New England's evening, as they filled their only glaring need with Derek Rivers and picked up some left tackle depth with Antonio Garcia.
Adam Schefter sums up the Patriots' moves with their draft picks, including their offseason trades for the likes of Brandin Cooks and Kony Ealy, the best with a single Tweet:
We'll have much more on the two newest Patriots coming soon.
10:38 p.m.: And here we go again. The Patriots traded up with the Lions for the 85th overall pick, and drafted offensive tackle Antonio Garcia out of Troy.
From CBS Sports' pre-draft overview:
The long-armed left tackle appeared to slip through the cracks in the talent hotbed of Georgia, generating little fanfare perhaps in part due to the fact that he was the first athlete from any sport to be named first-team All-State from his high school. After redshirting his first season with the Trojans, Garcia quickly proved up to the task, starting the first six games of the 2013 campaign (before an injury ended his year prematurely) and all 37 games since, surrendering just 5.5 sacks during that time, including none in 2016. And while it is fair to question the talent Garcia faced on a week to week basis in the Sun Belt, Garcia more than held his own during showdowns against future NFL pass rushers from Clemson (2016), Ohio (2016), North Carolina State (2015), Wisconsin (2015) and Mississippi State (2015), among others.
Even with four years of starting experience, Garcia remains a project. In a relatively weak class for tackles, however, do not be surprised if he earns Day Two consideration and ultimately develops into a starter.
The Patriots traded the 96th pick and the 124th pick (which they acquired from Tennessee earlier this evening) in the trade.
10:29 p.m.: Finally, a Patriots draft pick. With the 83rd pick, the Patriots drafted defensive end Derek Rivers out of Youngstown State.
From CBS Sports' pre-draft overview:
A three-year starter at Youngstown State, Rivers lined up at left defensive end in Bo Pelini's four-man front and holds the Penguins program career sack record by a wide margin (41 - 19 more than No. 2 on the list).
Rivers has outstanding natural burst and arc quickness to attack the corner, working through the outside shoulder of blockers. Although he uses his combination of bend and balance to work through contact as a pass rusher, his lack of ideal core power and shed skills will show in the run game. An athletic one-gap upfield penetrator, Rivers has occasional struggles vs. the run that could limit his pro ceiling, but his pass rush skills are NFL worthy, ideally suited as an edge rusher in a 3-4 scheme.
9:51 p.m.: Or not. They have traded down with the Titans, who had the 83rd overall pick.
That move is so Belichick it hurts. The wait continues.
9:51 p.m.: The Patriots are on the clock for the first time in the 2017 NFL Draft.
9:02 p.m.: A local kid is off the board, as the Oakland Raiders drafted safety Obi Melifonwu with the 56th pick. The Grafton, MA native had a solid four-year career at UConn, picking off eight passes and forcing two fumbles for the Huskies.
Melifonwu was projected to go in the first round in many mock drafts.
8:41 p.m.: The Browns have drafted a quarterback.
With the 52nd overall pick they drafted DeShone Kizer from Notre Dame. So the Garoppolo Trade Watch can pretty much end. Adam Schefter will be taking a victory lap around Philadelphia at some point tonight.
You can go back to the Celtics or Red Sox game, for now.
8:00 p.m.: The New Orleans Saints have drafted Utah safety Marcus Williams with the 42nd overall pick, ending any chance the Saints and Patriots work out a trade for corner Malcolm Butler.
New Orleans drafted corner Marshon Lattimore with the 11th overall pick in the first round, so they're building their secondary through the draft and not via trade.
6:55 p.m.: Day 2 of the NFL Draft is here, and the Patriots will actually be on the clock tonight.
It may take a while, as both of their scheduled picks aren't until the third round -- No. 72 and No. 96 overall -- but there's a chance Bill Belichick tries to jump into the second round if a player he likes remains on the board.
Much like they can consider wide receiver Brandin Cooks their first-round pick this season, defensive end Kony Ealy could be seen as their second-round selection. The Patriots traded the 64th overall pick to Carolina for Ealy, but that price tag really wasn't much as they also acquired the 72nd pick in that deal. The Patriots got a somewhat known commodity in the 25-year-old Ealy, who has three years and 14 sacks under his belt.
But if the Patriots want to get into the second round, they could always pull a Bizzaro Belichick and use picks from future drafts to do so. Not to mention, there's a backup quarterback on their roster who has been the talk off the trade rumors this offseason. Adam Schefter has doubled, tripled and quadrupled down on his report that the Patriots will not trade Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason, but the Cleveland Browns are reportedly making another push. They have the 20th pick this evening, and also own two first rounders next year and a trio of second-round picks in 2018.
As always with the Patriots, we'll just have to wait and see. But the bottom line is they'll be drafting a player at some point this evening, and we'll have it all covered for you. You can follow every pick here, and stick with the CBS Boston live blog for everything Patriots.
The draft resumes at 7pm, and teams will have seven minutes to make their picks in the second round and five minutes in the third.
