Patriots Use 4th-Round Picks To Select Trey Flowers, Tre Jackson, Shaquille Mason
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots entered Saturday in possession of three fourth-round picks -- 101st, 111th and 131st overall -- and they used all three of them -- or should we say "tre"?
With the second pick of the fourth round, Bill Belichick and Co. selected Trey Flowers, a defensive end out of Arkansas. To that point in the draft, the Patriots had used three of their first four picks on defensive linemen.
Flowers -- a 6-foot-2, 266-pound defensive end -- led Arkansas in sacks (6) and tackles for a loss (15.5) last season.
"He's not a pure speed rusher, but he is an every-down threat," Khaled Elsayed of Pro Football Focus wrote. "Flowers is great against the run and extremely good rushing the passer, which makes it all the more surprising teams are letting a guy slip, who could come in and start Day 1."
Ten picks later, the Patriots drafted another Trey/Tre, this one being Tre Jackson, a guard from Florida State.
Two weeks ago on Bob Socci's NFL Draft Preview Show, the Boston Herald's Jeff Howe spoke highly of Jackson.
"I like [Tre] Jackson a lot. I like all of those Florida State guys," Howe said, noting that Jackson's former teammate Bryan Stork fit in quite well as a rookie with the Patriots. "He was terrific two years ago and slid a little bit last year, and I think a huge reason for that was the loss of Stork. … I think if you reunite Jackson with Stork, you could get a ton of potential out of him. And he's a guy I think is going to slide into the second round. If you can get Tre Jackson at 64, I think that's a steal."
The Patriots ended up being able to get him much later, at No. 111.
Jackson's collegiate head coach, Jimbo Fisher, has high hopes for the lineman's professional career.
"Tre is one heck of a player. He is as tough as they come. He was often our best offensive lineman most games over the past two years," FSU's Fisher said. "He should be a perfect fit for the Patriots organization and excel in the NFL."
The Pats added another interior lineman with the 131st overall pick, selecting Georgia Tech's Shaq Mason. The 6-foot-1, 300-pounder's full name is Shaquille Olajuwon Mason -- an indication that his parents might have envisioned their son to become a basketball player.
The NFL.com draft profile of Mason describes him as a "powerful player with an ability to drive defenders off their spot with leg drive and then torque and finish with strong hands and upper body. ... His elite power trait as run blocker and solid pass-protection technique make him a future starter at right guard in the NFL."
After the fourth round, the Patriots had made six picks -- three defensive linemen (Malcom Brown, Geneo Grissom, Flowers), two offensive linemen (Jackson, Mason) and a safety (Jordan Richards).
