New England Patriots: Seven round 2018 mock draft

Round 2, Pick 43: S Justin Reid, Stanford

Patriots fans shouldn’t be surprised to see their team draft a defensive back with a Day 2 pick, something they’ve done four times in the last six drafts.

According to Sports Reference, Reid played 27 games for Stanford over the past two seasons. He finished 2017 with 94 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, five interceptions, and one sack.

Reid measured in at 6-feet, 207-pounds at the NFL Combine and his 4.40-second 40-yard dash tied for second-best among safeties. He posted a 128-inch broad jump, which ranked in the 90th percentile among safeties, per MockDraftable, and his 6.65-second three-cone drill ranked in the 92nd percentile.

It’s also worth noting, NESN’s Doug Kyed reported that Reid had a formal interview with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and safeties coach Steve Belichick during the combine.

The safety position isn’t a major area of concern for New England ahead of this week’s draft, however, starting safeties Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung will both be 31-years old at the start of the season. Reid could be a potential successor to either of the two.