The New England Patriots have selected Youngstown State EDGE Derek Rivers with the 83rd overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. The Patriots acquired this selection after trading down from 72nd overall with the Tennessee Titans.

Rivers will be the #4 defensive end in the rotation, behind Trey Flowers, Rob Ninkovich, and Kony Ealy. He is slightly undersized and comes from a small school, so he will benefit from a year in the system before elevating to the #2 spot in the rotation in 2018.

#83 Overall

Name: Derek Rivers

Position: EDGE

School: Youngstown State

Measurables: 6’4, 248 pounds; 4.61s 40 yard dash; 10’3 broad jump

Rivers comes from a small school, but he absolutely wrecked the competition. He collected 10 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss in his final year and showed up well against top competition at the Senior Bowl.

Strengths:

• Incredible first step out of the snap.
• Healthy player that played a high number of snaps. Can shoulder the load.
• Can bend the corner against an offensive tackle and get after the quarterback.
• Stout versus the run and sets the edge perfectly.
• Athletic enough to drop back into coverage and play in space.

Weaknesses:

• Played very weak competition at a small school.
• Lacks complex pass rushing arsenal; needs a back-up move if blocked.

Grade: A

I love this pick. Rivers addresses a major need and offers plenty of upside.

Remaining needs: LB, OT, SS, TE, IOL

Remaining picks: 96, 124, 131, 183, 239

Draft date and time

Day two: Friday, April 28th, 7:00 p.m. EST

Day three: Saturday, April 29th, 12:00 p.m. EST

Channels

NFL Network and ESPN/ESPN2 will televise the draft.

Time allowed per pick

Round 3-6: 5 minutes

Round 7: 4 minutes