The Patriots made their second selection of the night on Friday, staying on the defensive side of the football and taking Sacramento State’s Marte Mapu with the 76th overall selection in the third round.
Mapu is definitely an interesting player. The 6’3″, 216lb Hornet played a variety of positions in college, playing a hybrid of linebacker and safety and showed some tremendous athleticism, as well as some terrific instincts.
He’s also a solid tackler and a guy who makes plays. In 41 games in college, he totaled 11 interceptions along with 94 tackles, including 13 for a loss. He also had 22 career passes defended.
Looking at the film, he’s a tremendously physical player, with explosive speed and acceleration. He’s also an extremely hard-hitter, but is also solid in coverage, with great hands and terrific vision, with a knack for disrupting opponent’s passing games.
Opponents also have a tough time blocking him, with film showing Mapu often slipping the block and still making the play.
He’s just a solid player and with the future in question for several players at safety and linebacker, he’s the type of swiss army knife that certainly gives New England a pretty solid player moving forward.
The New England Patriots also took Georgia Tech’s Keion White earlier in the night with the 46th overall selection in round two.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
