Bill Belichick felt things came out at the end of the round "about as well as we could have hoped for."
Devin [McCourty] is a player that is in an outstanding program at Rutgers. He’s coached by coach [Greg] Schiano and their staff. Devin’s had an outstanding career there. He’s fast. He’s tough. He’s a good four down football player – first, second, third and fourth down and in the kicking game he’s certainly one of the top guys in the draft in that area. I think he’s shown consistent production in that program and again, in a well-coached program. I have a lot of respect for what he’s done there.
We felt like backing off a little bit we would be able to still make that pick and that was the case. In the end, we acquired a third round pick tomorrow – number 90. We felt like that was good value the way things turned out.
We’re looking forward to tomorrow with several opportunities to improve our football team in one way or another as it unfolds. It’s kind of interesting how it happened to one with the one round in one day – prime time kind of thing. It gives us a chance to restack the board like all the other teams are doing and approach the second round a little differently than how we’ve done in the past. Hopefully we’ll take advantage of our opportunities there.
Q: Can you talk about him in the return game?
BB: I think he’s had some production in kickoff returns, he’s an excellent cover guy – covering kicks, gunners, special teams, kickoff coverage, hold up on the punt returns. He’s had a very significant role in the kicking game and was very good at it. He blocked kicks. He’s versatile. He can do a number of things for us in the kicking game.
Q: He mentioned that he spent an hour with you watching film when you were down at Rutgers. What did you learn from him in that hour?
BB: I think Devin has a real good understanding of his defense, the techniques, the calls, not just what he’s doing, but what the entire defense is doing – the big picture and how the defense is put together – what the line stunts are. He’s a very aware player. It’s obvious that he’s well coached, he studied hard, he’s prepared and thoroughly understands the defense, the opponents and the offenses that he’s faced. We look for that in terms of players that are well prepared and work hard in their preparation and the importance of football and I think he clearly has a high level of that.
Q: He’s talked about studying film on Darrelle Revis. Are there some similarities in the way they play?
BB: I think any player can look at good players and learn from them as we can as coaches. We watch good players and learn and watch what they do and sometimes try to impart that to either another good player or players that can learn from those guys. I think that’s pretty common. I admire that about players that do that, that work at their craft, look at other players that play their position and see things that can be helpful to them and try to emulate them. I think that’s a positive trait of a player that wants to get better that is looking at people who are high quality players and trying to learn something from them.
TEAM TALK
- Bill Belichick Thursday Press Conference (14.33 min. video) Plus Transcript.
- Devin McCourty college highlights. (1.40 min. video clip).
- Erik Scalavino offers his thoughts on the first round of the draft, and the Patriots surprising selection after trading down twice.
- Andy Hart isn't sure Devin McCourty fills a huge need or makes the Patriots markedly better at this point, while acknowledging he's a very good player.
- Andy Hart restacks his draft board for tonight and still sees plenty of interesting names at many of the Patriots positions of need.
- Patriots Today - Analyzing the McCourty pick. (2.20 min. video)
LOCAL LINKS
- Mark Farinella previews what's on the draft docket tonight with the Patriots having four picks (as it stands now.) Plus some predictions on who they'll take.
- Tom E. Curran offers a transcript of Devin McCourty's interview with the New England media.
- Shalise Manza Young reports on Belichick's choice of Devin McCourty, and the new Patriot's reaction.
- Ian Rapoport talks about the selection of Devin McCourty saying maybe the team wanted its own Revis.
- Albert Breer looks at what the newest Patriot did in Indianapolis at the Combine.
- Albert Breer says Devin McCourty had better be Darrelle Revis or Nnamdi Asomugha, or else they left their needs unfilled on Day one of the draft.
- Mike Reiss thinks this pick highlights how Wheatley, a 2008 late second-round pick, hasn't panned out.
- Mark Farinella notes Devin McCourty's twin brother Jason is an outstanding special-teamer for the Tennessee Titans. A good sign.
- Ian Rapoport tells us who is Rutgers defensive back Devin McCourty.
- Ron Borges notes the selection of special teams demon McCourty is an effort to shore up what has become a secondary in flames whenever it faces a dangerous passing offense.
- Ian Raoport gets Vince Wilfork's reaction to the team's first selection: "If this guy is [tough, physical, mentally tough and loves the game] he's exactly what we need."
- Karen Guregian watched the draft with Vince Wilfork, as he raised money for diabetes with his annual draft party. The initial fan reaction was stunned silence.
- Karen Guregian notes the packed house at Pinz in Milford, where Vince and Bianca Wilfork held their annual draft party. The hugely successful event was packed and a ton of money was raised.
- Rich Levine admits he knows absolutely nothing of the draft prospects personally, but questions, after a few subpar seasons, whether Belichick is still worthy of the fans' trust.
- Ian Rapoport looks at the story surrounding the knee of Texas LB Sergio Kindle, saying a lot of teams labled him a 'serious medical risk'.
- Mike Reiss offers a mock draft for Friday's second round. Interesting picks for Pats.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Tim Graham (ESPN) Friday night's AFC East picks -- for now.
- Mike Reiss (ESPNBoston) Picking Devin McCourty will disappoint some, but that's not the Pats' concern.
- Tim Graham (ESPN) Pats trade back twice, draft Devin McCourty.
- Tim Graham (ESPN) Spiller pick risky, but could pay off for Bills.
- Tim Graham (ESPN) Jets collect another CB in Kyle Wilson.
- Tim Graham (ESPN) Dolphins bolster D-line with Jared Odrick.
- Don Banks (SI) Round 1: Tebow's mile-high landing, a sour night for Clausen.
- Ross Tucker (SI) Draft Analysis, pick-by-pick.
- Jason Cole (Yahoo! Sports) Character tops draft boards in first round.
- Richard Deitsch (SI) Analyzing draft's first-round trades.
- John Clayton (ESPN) Jimmy Clausen was a big loser on Day 1 of the draft, and so were the Denver Broncos.
- Matt Bowen (Nat'l Football Post) Five standout moves of the first round.
- Len Pasquarelli (ESPN) The wait is worth it for Tebow.
- Joe Posnanski (SI) It gets more hype than ever, but NFL draft is still a crapshoot.