new england patriots

New England Patriots: A Bill Belichick cleverly maneuvered around the draft board to address the Patriots’ suspect defense. He nabbed a pair of first-round difference makers in Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower, and found a few potential sleepers in Alfonzo Dennard and Jake Bequette.

Best pick: Dont’a Hightower, LB, Alabama (Round 1, 25). Hightower is a productive player capable of filling a variety of roles in the Patriots’ hybrid defense.

Questionable pick: Tavon Wilson, DB, Illinois (Round 2, 48). Wilson is not a household name and his second-round selection stunned many observers, but his versatility could prove invaluable in the back end.

Sleeper pick: Alfonzo Dennard, CB, Nebraska (Round 7, 224). Dennard’s draft stock fell dramatically after a poor performance at the Senior Bowl and questionable character decisions in recent weeks (including an arrest for allegedly assaulting a police officer just days before the draft). However, he has considerable talent and could carve out a big role as a nickel corner.

Here’s the video they played at the ceremony today, and after you watch this one I suggest you watch BB’s comments which were hilarious.

Light loved his teammates. He loved the on-field challenge of his individual task, which was shutting down the game’s best. He worked incredibly hard at it. Yet Light brushed away getting beat better than any player I’ve talked to, often saying, “Yup, I screwed up. It happens.” He had other parts of his life that were important — his family, his faith, his charity — so he never took it to heart. That made him so productive. He didn’t dwell on mistakes.