Joejuan Williams pick kicks off second round for Patriots
The New England Patriots jumped up in a trade with the Rams on Day 2 of the 2019 NFL Draft, selecting Joejuan Williams with the 45th overall pick.
The New England Patriots went in a decidedly interesting direction to start things off on Day 2 of the 2019 NFL Draft. Armed with the 56th pick of Round 2, Bill Belichick reached out to Les Snead and Sean McVay, the GM and head coach of the Los Angeles Rams – the very team the Patriots vanquished a little over two months ago in Super Bowl 53. Belichick offered the Rams his 56th and 101st picks in exchange for L.A.’s 45th pick.
With that selection, the Patriots nabbed Joejuan Williams, a rangy cornerback from the University of Vanderbilt. According to NFL.com insider Ian Rapoport, New England heavily considered drafting Williams with the 32nd pick at the end of the first round last night. They ultimately decided on ASU wide receiver N’Keal Harry instead, so it should be considered a victory that the Pats were able to get both players who were presumably atop their big board.
The #Patriots in the second round take #Vandy CB Joejuan Williams — it was down to him and N’Keal Harry at No. 32. They trade up and get both. High character guy… who told me Wednesday night his top choice was going to the #Patriots.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 27, 2019
Harris had 119 tackles and four interceptions during his three-year career at Vandy. He played against some of the top receivers in the country during that timespan – including Riley Ridley of Georgia and D.K. Metcalf of Ole Miss – so it’s safe to say the transition from the SEC to the NFL should make life a bit easier on Harris than it would perhaps for a player coming from an FBS or smaller school.
At 6’3 and 211 lbs, Harris certainly has the ideal physical makeup for a modern NFL cornerback. Especially considering the receivers he’ll be asked to go up against in today’s NFL – a list that includes superstars like Julio Jones, A.J. Green, Odell Beckham Jr., and DeAndre Hopkins – it’s important that the Patriots found a player who could match up with some of those guys pound-for-pound.
Still, cornerback is far from an area of need for New England. The Patriots’ secondary is arguably the deepest position on the team, with All-Pro Stephon Gilmore, Jason McCourty, J.C. Jackson, Keion Crossen, and Jonathan Jones all returning from last season. 2018 top pick Duke Dawson also will presumably return from injury and could make an immediate impact on the field as well.
Next. N'Keal Harry and Tom Brady share their draft day reactions. dark
This pick looks like the classic example of a team choosing to draft the best player available rather than drafting on need. The Pats still desperately need to find some answers along their defensive line and at tight end, but at the very least, they know they’ll have an excellent group of defensive backs in 2019 and beyond now.