Before we look at the picks, let's recap the selections from the earlier rounds. Keep in mind that each team has the use of Tom Brady on offense and Jamie Collins on defense.
Alec Shane - Devin McCourty - CB/S and all around great athlete; Julian Edelman - WR/KR/PR/QB/Slot CB and all around athlete; Matthew Slater - WR/S/special teams ace; Adrian Wilson - SS and tweener 'backer.
Greg Knopping - Danny Amendola - WR/KR/PR and shifty as the Saharan sands; Aqib Talib - CB and another fast athlete; Aaron Dobson - WR tall, fast and with good hands; Josh Boyce - WR with speed to burn
Rich Hill - Rob Gronkowski - TE and unstoppable over the middle and up the seam; Chandler Jones - DE and TE in a past life; Ras-I Dowling - CB talented corner; Mark Harrison - WR/TE and freakish athlete
Adam Fox - Shane Vereen - RB/WR with loads of speed and shiftiness; Jerod Mayo - LB with sideline to sideline speed; Leon Washington - KR/PR/RB a guy who is dangerous in space; Logan Ryan - CB and rookie with upside
The teams are now developing some personality, and the luster of the earlier rounds is fading as we move deeper into the roster. Where do they go from here?
Round Five:
Alec Shane chose Nate Solder. With his last two picks Alec has chosen to close the weight gap between Rich and all other competitors. Solder adds around 320 lbs to help literally balance the scales. If I had to chose one lineman to stand between Rich's pass rush and Brady, Solder would be it. His phenomenal strength and reach will surely help keep Brady's flags nice and clean. In addition, Solder has played Tight-End, and at 6' 8" towers over the defense. On defense, Solder projects to multiple line positions through his combination of both size and athleticism.
Greg Knopping chose Kyle Arrington. Arrington is a more than adequate slot corner, and while he hasn't been great on the outside, he'll likely be covering someone whose day job isn't wide receiver. He's going to win that matchup. On offense, he can fill a number of receiver roles, or looking at the rest of Greg's roster, he may just line him up in the backfield. Greg has some serious talent at receiver already.
Rich Hill chose Nate Ebner. Ebner makes his living on special teams, but he has the athleticism to play other positions. Obviously, he has played some safety, but looking at the rest of Rich's roster, he'll likely be needed at cornerback. On offense, Ebner could run out of the backfield, play slot receiver, or even line up outside. He's pretty good in space with the ball in his hands. Even if THAT ball is shaped a little differently.
Adam Fox chose Michael Hoomanawanui. Hooman made some decent catches last year with a depleted TE roster. Against Rich, he may be asked to block ... nearly every down. On defense, he projects to a strong safety / tweener linebacker role. It's all about match-ups, and Hooman can match-up favorably against a number of players already on the table.