 The Patriots selected Jordan Richards Friday night in round two of the 2015 NFL Draft. (USA TODAY Images) |
The Patriots made their second selection of the 2015 NFL Draft on Friday night, this time adding a player to their defensive backfield, although it wasn't at cornerback.
New England picked Stanford's Jordan Richards with the 64th overall selection, adding another player to a safety group that now includes Patrick Chung, Duron Harmon and Tavon Wilson, with the latter falling under the category of a player that many felt at the time the Patriots reached for and hasn't lived up to the expectations.
That's how many seem to feel about Richards, who didn't come into this draft as a highly ranked player at his position. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein and Chad Reuter actually had him projected as a 7th round pick, going at 240th overall to the Detroit Lions. However, as we know Bill Belichick likes team captains and smart players, which are both two traits the Stanford standout possesses.
Richards becomes just the second player ever selected out of Stanford during the Belichick era, with the last being Cameron Fleming, who was taken in the fourth round last year.
Looking at his numbers from the combine, one area he excelled was the 3 cone drill, finishing with a time of 6.74 seconds, the second highest among safeties this year behind Utah's Eric Rowe (6.74), who was taken with the 47th overall pick by Philadelphia. He also ran an 11.38 60yd shuttle, ranked 3rd in that category among safeties.
Quick feet and a smart player. It's an interesting selection, and hopefully he turns out to be the player Belichick seems to think he can be in New England's defense.
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