Today in Patriots History
May 3 Drafts and Transactions
May 3, 1977:
Day One (Rounds 1-5) of the NFL Draft, from the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan
One of the better draft days in franchise history.
- (Pats received a 1st and 2nd in the 1977 draft (1.16, 2.44) as well as two 1976 firsts in the Jim Plunkett trade from San Francisco, 4/5/76)
- 1.16 -- CB
Raymond Clayborn, Texas
- 1.25 -- WR
Stanley Morgan, Tennessee
- 2.44 -- RB
Horace, Ivory, Oklahoma
- 2.52 -- TE
Don Hasselbeck, Colorado
- 3.82 -- DB Sidney Brown, Oklahoma
- 4.109 - OT Gerald Skinner, Arkansas
- (Pats had traded 5.135 to the St Louis Cardinals for DB Durwood Keeton on 8/28/75)
May 3, 1978:
Day Two (Rounds 7-12) of the NFL Draft, from the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan
- 7.188 -- OLB
Mike Hawkins, Texas A&I
- (Pats had traded John Sanders to Philadelphia for 8.198 on 9/6/77)
- 8.198 -- G Terry Falcon, Montana
- 8.215 -- RB
Mosi Tatupu, USC
- 9.242 -- LB Tim Petersen, Arizona State
- 10.269 - DB Brian Ferguson, Miami
- 11.296 - LB Charlie Williams, Florida
- 12.328 - C John Gibney, Colgate
May 3, 1979:
Day One (rounds 1-6) of the NFL Draft, from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City
1.25 --- S
Rick Sanford, South Carolina
2.52 --- DT Bob Golic, Notre Dame
(Pats had traded 3.81 and a 1980 4th to the Rams for WR
Harold Jackson on 8/16/78)
4.106 -- P Eddie Hare, Tulsa
5.135 -- LB John Zamberlin, Pacific Lutheran
(Pats had traded 6.161 to Pittsburgh for DL Dave Pureifory on 8/22/78; the Pats waived Pureifory at the end of camp while the Steelers used the pick on CB Dwayne Woodruff, who had 37 interceptions over 12 seasons with Pittsburgh.)
Sanford was a good pick and Golic was a three-time Pro Bowler - with the Browns, after the Patriots gave up on him too soon. Jackson had four good seasons in New England, so that was a good use of a third round pick. Hare only lasted one season, and Zamberlin was backup depth.
Side note about the 1979 draft: Buffalo had the first and fifth picks of the draft, thanks to a 1978 trade where they sent 31 year old
OJ Simpson to San Francisco for a 1978 2nd and 3rd, a 1979 1st and 4th, and a 1980 2nd. Juice was toast at that point: Simpson would run for less than 600 yards in each of his two seasons with the 49ers.
Buffalo used the number one overall pick that they received in the Simpson trade on LB Tom Cousineau, but he never played for the Bills. He instead signed with Montreal in the CFL for double the money Buffalo offered, playing there for three seasons. When he was ready to return Art Modell offered what was then the highest contract ever by the Cleveland Browns. Buffalo still retained Cousineau's rights though, and the Browns were forced to give up three draft picks - one of which was used on QB
Jim Kelly.
Another one-sided '79 draft trade involved Tampa Bay, who seemed to annually be on the wrong end of these deals. The previous year Chicago traded broken down defensive lineman Wally Chambers for the Bucs first round pick in the '79 draft; Chambers was able to start just two games in '78, and '79 was his final year in the NFL.
One other move that did work out was San Diego trading up seven spots from 20th to 13th overall, at the cost of their second round pick. The Chargers selected Hall of Fame TE
Kellen Winslow; the two players the Browns drafted combined to start a total of eight games for Cleveland.
May 3, 1988:
Patriots sign Howard Feggins, an undrafted rookie CB from the University of North Carolina.
Feggins spent much of 1988-89 on what was then known as the 'developmental squad', and also appeared in eleven games in 1989.
His career highlight was an interception off Jack Trudeau on December 3, 1898 to help seal a 22-16 victory over the Colts.
May 3, 1993:
Patriots sign undrafted rookie free agents Arnold Ale, Bernie Legette,
Corey Croom, Ronnie Harris and Vernon Lewis.
Croom made the roster and proceeded to play in 43 games over the next three seasons. He is most notable for being called upon by
Bill Parcells to be the surprise starter over
Marion Butts at running back in the wild card game following the 1994 regular season. Croom had 60 rushes as a rookie but zero carries in '94, being used strictly on special teams or as a blocking fullback. On that day he had nine carries for 35 yards as the Patriots lost to
Bill Belichick and the Browns in Cleveland, 20-13.
May 3, 1994:
Patriots sign undrafted rookie DE
Troy Barnett, from North Carolina.
Barnett played for the Pats from 1994-1996, with 15 starts in 1995.
May 3, 2010:
Pats sign undrafted rookie free agent WR
Buddy Farnham
August 17, 2010:
Brown ’10 football standout, Buddy Farnham was released by the New England Patriots on August 9th, but has been re-signed today in reaction to Torry…
www.golocalprov.com
Brown ’10 football standout, Buddy Farnham was released by the New England Patriots on August 9th, but has been re-signed today in reaction to Torry Holt’s (WR) season ending knee injury. Farnham turned some heads during the New England Patriots Training Camp earlier this month. The 2009 Ivy Player of the Year is only 6'0" and 190 lbs, but has exceptional hands and has a knack for making plays. He's the humble, blue-collared player that coaches and fans love. When Holt, a 12-year NFL veteran was placed on the Patriot’s IR Sunday, it opened a roster spot for Farnham and brought him back to Gillette.
Farnham Family Tradition
Buddy grew up in Andover, MA, a Patriots fan, with dreams of playing for the Brown Bears. His father (Mark '80) and two uncles (Bob '77, Paul '83) were all record-breaking wide-receivers at Brown and all wore the number 46. For nine straight years, Brown's starting receiver was #46 Farnham. Bob was an All-American and Mark and Paul were both All-Ivy selections. It was only fitting that when it came time to choose a college, Buddy followed in his family's footsteps. Likewise, Buddy's cousin, Bobby Farnham '12 (Bob's son) plays for Brown's hockey team (and wears #46 of course).
Buddy went on to dominate the Ivy League from the get-go, having an immediate impact as receiver and punt returner. He was a three-time first team All-Ivy selection and Ivy Player of the Year his senior year. In his career, Buddy totaled 229 receptions and 2,895 yards, which is 6th and 7th in Ivy League history, receptively.
Buddy has been given another chance, but his best shot at playing is on special teams.
May 3, 2012:
New England releases WR
Tiquan Underwood, and re-signs DT
Gerard Warren
May 3, 2013:
The Patriots sign 19 undrafted rookie free agents.
- FB Ben Barholomew, Tennessee
- TE Brandon Ford, Clemson
- CB Brandon Jones, Rutgers
- G Chris McDonald, Michigan State
- DT Cory Grissom, South Florida
- DT DeWayne Cherrington, Mississippi State
- OT Elvis Fisher, Missouri
- LB Ian Sluss, Portland State
- DT
Joe Vellano, Maryland
- G
Josh Kline, Kent State
- S
Kanorris Davis, Troy
- WR
Kenbrell Thompkins, Cincinnati
- C Matt Stankiewitch, Penn State
- LS Mike Zupancic, Eastern Michigan
- RB Quentin Hines, Cincinnati
- P
Ryan Allen, Louisiana Tech
- CB Stephon Morris, Penn State
- WR T.J. Moe, Missouri
- TE
Zach Sudfeld, Nevada
There are actually a lot of players from that list that I thought at the time would stick, but never played in the NFL.
May 3, 2016:
Pats release two veterans, LB James Vaughters and CB Rashaan Melvin.
May 3, 2021:
New England makes four roster transactions.
- Practice squad QB Jake Dolegala of Central Connecticut State is released.
- NFL grants FB
Jakob Johnson a roster exemption based on his status as an International Player.
- The team declines a 2022 contract option on RB
Sony Michel.
- The Pats exercise a one-year, 2022 contract option for $10.4 million on OT
Isaiah Wynn.
May 3, 2022:
Veteran RB Devine Ozigbo is placed on waivers.
If you don't remember him, you are not alone.
