New England Patriots Links 4/27/12 - Fans' Dreams Become Reality; Patriots Trade Up, Draft Defenders

Bill Belichick speaks to the media following the first round of the draft Thursday night.

I thought we had a good day today. As usual, the draft always takes some interesting twists and turns. You just never know how it's going to go, but as the players came off the board we were able to execute a couple trades there and still hang onto our two second round picks, which I thought if we moved up I wasn't sure that we would be able to do that, but it worked out that way. Nick [Caserio] really did a good job of handling those. I felt like we got good value for them. [We] took Dont'a [Hightower] and Chandler [Jones]. Probably could have been in either order, but we felt like we would have a better chance to end up with both players if it went that way, not that we were sure we would get the second one but we thought we might have a shot at it.

Looking forward to working with both guys. Chandler is a little younger and has a little less experience coming out early; he missed part of the season last year. But very talented player, smart guy, works hard and really did a good job against some good quality players he faced in the last couple years at tackle in the Big East and in there on Syracuse's schedule. Of course, Hightower has been in a great program for a great coach; won a couple of national championships and has been the signal caller, leader of that defense. I think both players have some versatility, we'll work with them and figure out what works best for us and them. But excited to work with them; glad we have them on our team. I think they'll represent us well both on and off the field, at least that's our expectations.

TEAM TALK

• Andy Hart still sees lots of talent left for Round 2.
• Andy Hart looks at the areas left for the team to fill in the 2nd round, including kick returner.
• Erik Scalavino recaps New England's furious action on Day 1 and reminds us the last time the Pats actually made two selections in Round 1 was back in 2004.
• Paul Perillo reports the Patriots swung a pair of first-round trades to move up the board and snag two athletic playmakers to add to their defense.
• Andy Hart notes Chandler Jones models his game after Julius Peppers and Aldon Smith.
• Post First-Round Press Conference: Bill Belichick (plus 7.37 min. video)
  
• Conference Call Transcripts: Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower.
• Patriots Today - Setting the scene on draft night. (2.12 min. video)
• Patriots Today - Belichick chats at draft party. (1.14 min. video)
• Patriots Today - Inside the draft room. (1.30 min. video)
• Patriots Today - Two trades, two picks. (3.47 min. video)
• Patriots Today - Reaction to Jones pick. (1.23 min. video)
• Patriots pick Chandler Jones No. 21 (1.26 min. video) and Dont'a Hightower No. 25. (2.01 min. video)
• College Highlight Clips: Chandler Jones (1.23 min.) and Dont'a Hightower (4.08 min.).

LOCAL LINKS

• Karen Guregian watched Round 1 at Vince Wilfork's annual Draft party and concludes Belichick hit this draft out of the park, based on the reactions of both fans and players in attendance.
• Greg A. Bedard reports help is coming for the Patriots defense, and notes that even at 60, Belichick continues to keep us all guessing.
• Shalise Manza Young opines that as soon as you think you have Bill Belichick figured out, he does just the opposite of what you expect.
• Christopher Price offers his thoughts on the Patriots getting defensive with their two first-round picks.
• Mike Petraglia saw some pretty smart wheeling and dealing by the Patriots, to move when they needed to to get the players they wanted.
• Tom E. Curran sees talent and scheme versatility all over the place in the front-seven, and is fascinating by how Belichick and Matt Patricia will scheme it up.
• Jim Donaldson is excited about Bill Belichick's reversal of draft strategy, that moves the Pats up and in the Pats in the right direction.
• Mark Farinella notes Bill Belichick finally agrees with everyone else that the Pats' ineffectual pass rush had to be rectified.
• Mike Reiss offers his initial reaction to the Chandler Jones pick, saying the Pats landed an intriguing athlete.
• Mike Reiss thinks the trade-up for LB Dont'a Hightower looks like a situation where Bill Belichick saw too good of a player to pass up.
• Nick O'Malley picks some winners and losers from the first round. Patriots fans were definitely in the winner category.
• Chris Gasper discusses the Patriots' first two first-round draft picks and the trades to get them. (3 min. video)
• Mike Reiss breaks down the Patriots' aggressive moves in moving up to draft Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower. (1 min. video)
• DJ Bean wonders what the Patriots will do with their remaining picks.
• Zuri Berry says there is still value on the board for the Patriots.
• Jeff Howe thinks the Patriots may look to deal for more picks on Day 2.

2012 NFL DRAFT

• NFL.Com 2012 NFL Official Draft Tracker.
• Kevin Fishbain (Pro Football Weekly) Patriots trade up twice to solidify front seven.
• Kerry J. Byrne (Cold Hard Football Facts) Draft Analysis pick-by-pick: Round one.
• Nolan Nawrocki (Pro Football Weekly) Pick-by-pick analysis: Round One.
• Tony Pauline (SI) Draft Analysis: No. 21 Chandler Jones (49 sec.) and No. 25 Dont'a Hightower (1 min.)
• James Walker (ESPN) Patriots aren't playing around.
• Simon Samano (NFL.com) Mike Mayock tips NFL cap to four movers, shakers. NE included.
• John Czarnecki (Fox Sports) NFL Draft: Front office analysis.
• Gregg Rosenthal (NFL.com) NFL draft first-round surprises, memorable moments.
• Don Banks (SI) First-round trade flurry thanks to rookie wage scale; and more.
• Frank Cooney (CBS Sports) After predictable start, first round of 2012 draft becomes wild ride.
• Wes Bunting (Nat'l Football Post) First Round Breakdown: Who made their mark in round one?
• Rob Rang (CBS Sports) Top 10 surprises from Round one.
• Evan Silva (ProFootballTalk) The top 10 draft prospects available after round one.
• Dane Brugler (CBS Sports) NFL Draft 2012: Best available players after Round 1.
• Evan Silva (ProFootballTalk) Patriots jump up to select Chandler Jones.
• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Patriots trade up again, land Dont'a Hightower.
• Brian Billick and Charles Davis (Fox Sports) NFL Draft: First-round break down. (2.53 min. video)
• Charley Casserly and Scott Hanson (NFL.com) Analysis: Patriots two first-round draft picks. (1.43 min. video)
• Jeff Darlington (NFL.com) First-round trade flurry gives glimpse into future of NFL drafts.
• Mike Freeman (CBS Sports) NFL Draft is as entertaining, unpredictable as any TV sitcom.
• Jim Steeg (Nat'l Football Post) The evolution of the NFL draft.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Report: NFL, union agree to rookie salary pool.
• Mike Freeman (CBS Sports) Pro Bowl is all but dead.
• Staff Report (ARL Now) (Washington Redskins safety Brandon Meriweather arrested on suspicion of DWI by Arlington County police.