While it's rare to believe that a long snapper can significantly impact a football team, the Patriots were fortunate to have a valuable locker-room guy in Joe Cardona, who played the position at a high level for years.
New England may have found its next guy in Vanderbilt's Julian Ashby, whom it selected in the sixth round. Ashby could very well turn out to be one of many pearls in this gem of a draft executed by Mike Vrabel and Robert Kraft.
Ashby will have to have an exceptional training camp to make the 53-man roster, but if his past coaches' comments about him are any indication, he fits the mold of what being a Patriot is all about.
Julian Ashby has proven to be a team player, first and foremost
According to Patriots.com's Julieanne Challacombe, Ashby is the type of player that Vrabel is looking for to rebuild the team's culture. It shouldn't matter what position a player plays if they want to put the team first. That's what the Patriots had in Cardona, who came from the Naval Academy, and the team is hoping that continues with Ashby.
We're talking about a guy who made his high school varsity team due to his willingness to become a long snapper. That position does not garner much glory but is vital to the team's success on and off the field.
"He wanted to contribute for his team, he wanted to help out," Ashby's high school coach, Eric Godfree, told Challacombe. "Because of the person Julian is, and his work ethic, and his character, we all wanted him on the field too."
And because of that, the Patriots want him on their field, which is why Vrabel and company chose to go the long-snapper route with a sixth-round draft pick. Ashby was named to the SEC's Football Community Service teams on multiple occasions in college, which is another great sign.
The Patriots' locker room was a mess last season, and if the team wants to make a playoff run this season, finding "locker room guys" was essential. And New England appears to have done just that with the drafting of Ashby.