 The Patriots selected Alabama's Dont'a Hightower with their second selection Thursday night. |
It's pretty clear the Patriots had a couple of players valued highly on their draft board, and they made sure that they got both of their guys Thursday night during the first round of the NFL Draft.
They traded up with Cincinnati to grab Chandler Jones at #21, and moments later made another move after making a trade with Denver to jump up to the #25 position. With that pick they took inside linebacker Dont'a Hightower out of Alabama, giving them yet another new defensive piece for Bill Belichick to work with heading into next season.
Most scouting reports note his strength and his quickness, as well as the fact he's very smart and has the ability to play any linebacker position. As we know Belichick loves versatility, and it seems that Hightower is a guy who can give them that. He's tough, physical, and has good size at 6'2'' 265.
We'll have more in a bit, but in the meantime here's a highlight of him making a big sack against Mississippi State:
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