Patriots Trade Down Twice and Select CB Devin McCourty

In true Belichick draft style, no one outside of the Patriots organization saw this coming in their mock drafts. The Patriots had a player in mind that they wanted and traded back twice (from the 22nd pick) and ultimately netted the 27th pick and the 90th overall pick. With the pick the Patriots took the second cornerback of the draft, Devin McCourty.

The 5'11" 190 pound McCourty was a four year player out of Rutgers and finished his collegiate career with 231 tackles, 6 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles. Bill Belichick in his presser called McCourty a "four down player" and said that he displayed "consistent production." This is reassuring because the only film I was able to see of him (on ESPN and on the internet) shows McCourty playing in the box a lot on obvious passing downs. It will be nice to see how he develops in man-to-man coverage in the NFL with the great instincts his college coach Greg Schiano praised.

McCourty also ran a 4.48 second 40 yard dash time at the NFL's Combine which was good for 4th among the cornerbacks. ESPN's Todd McCshay believes he can couple that speed and be a "specials teams demon." In his senior season he averaged 25.4 yards on 14 kick returns including a 98-yard TD return against UConn. He also blocked seven, yes seven kicks during his collegiate career. His scouting report also says that he is very good in kicking and punt coverage, as was shown by some of his footage.

Upon reviewing the Patriots' pass defense statistics, they ranked higher than I expected in most categories. Now they add to their cornerback corps and their roster currently includes CBs:

• Leigh Bodden
• Darius Butler
• Jonathan Wilhite
  
• Shawn Springs
• Devin McCourty
• Terrance Wheatley
• Kyle Arrington

The Patriots move into day 2 of the draft with four picks in rounds 2 and 3. They will have picks in the second round that are 44, 47, and 53 overall and a third round pick that is 90 overall.

Still lacking the elite edge pass rusher Pats fans coveted, tonight they addressed the cornerback and return man issues. What's left to address for this team tomorrow with it's remaining 12 picks?

• Outside Linebacker
• Defensive End
• Tightend
• Offensive Line
• Wide Reciever
  
• Running Back
• Return Specialist
• Punter

Tomorrow night will go a long way in determining this draft for the Patriots. Coverage starts at 6:30. It'll be a hectic night with the Bruins and Celtics playoff games going on as well and the Red Sox starting another series against the Orioles. Make sure those batteries in the remote control are fresh.