2012 NFL Draft: New England Patriots Second Round Wrap-Up
After making two selections in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft Thursday night, the New England Patriots continued their draft Friday night by making one second round selection. It wasn’t a surprising pick after seeing who the team selected in the first round. The Patriots had clear positions that they needed to draft and they did as expected.
The Patriots selection in the second round was the 16th pick of the round and the 48th pick overall. With that pick, the Patriots selected Illinois safety Tavon Wilson. While it’s not a surprise that the Patriots took a safety, many would not have guessed Wilson would be the player chosen. Wilson was projected by ESPN’s Scouts Inc. as a 6th round pick and the 24th ranked safety in the draft. The newest Patriot does bring one thing that head coach Bill Belichick holds dear, leadership. Wilson is a high character guy who was the captain of the Illini during his senior season.
The Patriots were scheduled to have the 20th pick of the second round (62nd overall) as their second pick of the round but have decided to trade down. They traded that pick to Green Bay for the Packers third and fifth round picks. The third round pick will be the 90th overall pick and the fifth round pick will be the 163rd pick of the draft. Before Thursday’s first round the Patriots had a third and fourth round pick but traded those to move up five spots twice in the first round.
The pick of Wilson is not too surprising after the Patriots decided not to take a defensive back in the first round. In 2011, the Patriots defense ranked 31st in the NFL and the majority of the yards against them came through the air. While many will criticize the pick as Wilson was projected to be taken later, the Patriots obviously felt that Wilson was the best equipped to help them now. With an aging offense and a team poised at making another Super Bowl run in 2012, immediately impactful players is what the
New England Patriots need.
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