2015 PATRIOTS DRAFT: Thoughts on All Eight Selections From Day Three

Flowers is among some pretty talented players selected Saturday. (USA TODAY Images)

The Patriots wrapped up the NFL Draft on Saturday in very Bill Belichick-like fashion, adding plenty of defensive help as well as a long-snapper (we all know Belichick loves long-snappers and specialists) and a couple of offensive linemen, one of which includes a former teammate of current center Bryan Stork.

It was an interesting day to say the least, and here's a quick rundown of all the players the Patriots will begin working with in the months ahead.

PICK 1) 4th Round (101st Overall): Trey Flowers (DE, Arkansas):
Every year there's a player who makes some interesting comments and this year Flowers is the lucky guy who falls into that category. Flowers is a big guy, listed at 6'4", 269lbs and one of the things he's good at is causing trouble in opposing backfields. According to CFBStats.com, he finished with 15.5 tackles for a loss and 6 sacks last season, as well as 9 QB hurries and 6 passes broken up. The inspiration for his play? The movie "The Waterboy". "I actually grew up watching, fell in love with the game watching Waterboy so I guess I got that kind visualize-and-attack mentality," said Wells during his interview with the media. "He just taught me to go crazy out there. I just take myself to a place and attack as they say." Needless to say, keep an eye on him in training camp and if you do happen to talk to him - for those of you who have seen the movie - don't say anything bad about his mother.

PICK 2) 4th Round (111st Overall): Tre' Jackson (OL, Florida State):
The FSU pipeline was tapped again on Saturday after the Patriots selected Seminole lineman Tre' Jackson, reuniting Stork with his former teammate. Adding depth up front is always important and at 6'4", 330 pounds, Jackson seems to give them a solid body for a line whose main responsibility is protecting one of the team's most valuable assets in Tom Brady. The biggest question seems to involve his health, with one report suggesting he failed multiple NFL team physicals due to his chronic knee problems. It didn't stop the Patriots from drafting him and Jackson says his knee is "great". For now, he's glad to be here and for the opportunity to play alongside his former teammate. "It's a great feeling to be alongside with one of my old players, one of my old guys that I know so well," said Jackson. "We talked a little bit during the process, and he pretty much just tuned me in on everything that you had to do to get to where he was and things like that." Hopefully he works out as well as Stork did in his rookie season.

PICK 3: 4th Round (131st Overall): Shaq Mason (OL, Georgia Tech):
Mason may not be the biggest player the Patriots have drafted up front, but he's a guy who most scouting reports claim utilizes what leverage he has and outworks a lot of the guys he battles against. Mason is fierce and is known as an excellent downfield blocker. That type of attitude and competitiveness are things that Belichick loves, so he's an interesting player in that regard and he possesses a lot of versatility, with the ability to also reportedly give them depth as a back-up center. Mason says his "competitive edge" is what sets him apart. "I always have a competitive edge," said Mason. "The salty and tough - that's pretty accurate because I mean, going into every situation on the football field, somebody has to win and somebody has to lose. That's my mindset each and every play, so I bring that to the table each and every play."

PICK 4: 5th Round (166th Overall): Joe Cardona (LS, Navy):
The draft wouldn't be complete without a crazy Belichick-esque pick and we got to see one Saturday when Belichick did what no other team had done in 20 years, and that was select a player out of Navy. The fact that it was a long-snapper at this spot only makes it even more interesting, proving once again how much he clearly values special teams. As we know, this is a coach who once had the long-snapper snap the ball up into the uprights late in a critical Monday night game out in Denver years ago, which requires a guy with the skills to do that and Cardona certainly fits the bill. Cardona found his selection, "surreal". "I think just the nature of the position you don't see many guys drafted," said Cardona. "I mean I heard rumors and my agent saying that I have a chance of getting drafted, and then when the call came in the fifth round it was just surreal. That's the only way I can put it - it was surreal. Like I said, I'm just grateful for the opportunity." The only question now seems to be whether or not he'll be able to play, as his military commitment seems to potentially be an issue. Either way it made for an interesting afternoon.

PICK 5: 6th Round (177th Overall): Matthew Wells (LB, Miss State):
Speed and athleticism seems to be a focus at the linebacker position in recent years, with Dont'a Hightower and Jamie Collins as two good examples of what New England has been looking for with previous draft picks. On Saturday their selection of Wells is another example, although Wells at this point looks to be more of a special teams standout and a role player given his size at 6'1" 218lbs. One area he excelled in college was his coverage skills on defense so it will be interesting to see how he's utilized by New England, but it appears they grabbed a pretty good athlete on Saturday. He told reporters on Saturday that he's legally blind in his right eye, saying he can see but he can't read out of it, although he claims it's never impacted him on the field. For now he's excited to get out there, and ready for whatever role he's given. "It doesn't matter," said Wells. "Whatever position they think I'm best at and want to try me at, that's what I'm willing to play."

Derby is a terrific athletic player and should be a good addition to the Patriots' offense.
(USA TODAY Images)

PICK 6: 6th Round (202nd Overall): AJ Derby (TE, Arkansas):
The draft wouldn't be complete without the addition of a tight end, and the Patriots drafted another to go along with Rob Gronkowski, Scott Chandler, Tim Wright and Michael Hoomanawanui. The interesting thing about Derby is that he's another player drafted that scored high in the 3-cone drill with a time of 6.99 seconds and a 4.51 short shuttle, so he's got terrific quickness. He's similar to Julian Edelman in that he started out as a quarterback before making his transition to tight end, which didn't happen until his senior season. It's been quite a journey for Derby, but he's happy to land in New England. "Yeah, it's kind of a long road," said Derby. "I was pretty stubborn about playing quarterback in my early time in college. That's the reason I ended up leaving Iowa to go to juco [junior college], then to Arkansas, but I ended up meeting with [head] coach 'B' [Bret Bielema] and it worked out great to be a tight end. [I'm] just really looking forward to joining the Patriots organization and doing whatever I can to help the team win."

PICK 7: 7th Round (247th Overall): Darryl Roberts (CB, Marshall):
It took until the 7th round for the Patriots to finally select a cornerback, but they ended up grabbing Roberts out of Marshall and the early reports seem to be pretty encouraging about his selection. He's another player that continues New England's focus on terrific athletes, with Roberts having run a 4.38 second 40-yard dash at his pro day along with a 6.66-second 3-cone drill, and an insane 4.06 second short shuttle. He finished his collegiate career with five interceptions and 35 passes defended, and he also played plenty of special teams in college. He should definitely be a fun player to watch in camp, and he's excited to be a Patriot. "It's just a true blessing," said Roberts "My whole family and my whole support staff, everybody is just happy for me and excited for me. It's just an honor to have an opportunity to play for the Patriots."

PICK 8: 7th Round (253rd Overall): Xzavier Dickson (DE/LB, Alabama):
New England grabbed a player out of Nick Saban's school with their final selection, taking another defensive player when they grabbed Dickson. Dickson's selection came later than many thought it would and he's a guy who had a decent amount of success in Alabama in getting after the quarterback and being disruptive in the backfield, having finished with 14 sacks along with 21 tackles for a loss. As far as how he'll be used, Dickson said the team told him he'll be "a defensive end or an outside linebacker" and that "speed to power" is his best move. When asked about all the defensive players New England took, the rookie said he's ready to come in and compete. "It's just football," said Dickson. "It's a competition every day. I've just got to go in and make the best out of my opportunity."

Overall, on paper, it seems like a pretty good group of talent the Patriots gathered on Day 3. We'll see in the months ahead who emerges as potential contributors for the upcoming season, which should definitely make for a pretty interesting training camp.