Sports Final: Mike Reiss On 2016 Patriots Draft Class
BOSTON (CBS) -- The New England Patriots had a busy weekend, adding nine new players to their roster through the NFL Draft.
Bill Belichick added four players to the defensive mix, including their top pick in cornerback Cyrus Jones out of Alabama. ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss joined Dan Roche on WBZ-TV's Sports Final on Sunday night to break down New England's selections, and said the Pats took a safe approach with their picks.
"When you have a draft when you don't have a first round pick, you want to limit your risks. To me, they did the best they could in the overall draft with the picks they made, and [Cyrus] Jones represents that overall approach," said Reiss. "A good returner, that four-down type player that Bill Belichick talks about, and I think he'll be their No. 3 corner after Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan right off the bat."
While Jones appears to be the pick with the most promise, Belichick made sure to fill the depth chart on the offensive side of the ball as well with a solid receiver, a pair of offensive linemen, and a third-string quarterback.
The Pats drafted a versatile offensive lineman in Joe Thuney in the third round with their second pick of the weekend, but while he has experience at all five positions along the line, many are predicting he'll see most of his time at center.
"This one surprised me, because I thought they were going tackle," said Reiss. "You have Nate Solder on the left side and Sebastian Vollmer on the right, in the last year of his contract. Marcus Cannon is behind him, in the last year of his contract, and he didn't play very well last year. I was thinking tackle, but the more you talk to people around the league about Thuney and they say he's probably a center, and that is really surprising. Does that mean they're not happy with Bryan Stork? David Andrews played well [last year], so something has to give. But I hear great things about Joe Thuney."
Thuney and guard Ted Karras (drafted in the sixth round) join a large group of young offensive linemen in Shaq Mason and Tre Jackson (both drafted last year), along with Josh Kline and newly acquired Jonathan Cooper.
"They have a lot of bodies on the interior of that offensive line," said Reiss. "This is the Dante Scarnecchia school of offensive lineman, school is open and they're bringing in students."
Reiss is a big fan of New England's first selection on Saturday, wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell out of Georgia.
"We don't get to watch all the film like the teams do, but doing the research we do before the draft, he is one of my favorite players," said Reiss. "Hines Ward is one of the comparisons that analysts made. I think he'll do great. The key with him will be health. His knee is a little bit of a situation. No one took him off the board because of the medical issues, but it was a reason he was still available."
Reiss also discusses Tom Brady's four-game suspension being reinstated and what it means for quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who the team took in the third round:
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