The New England Patriots have selected Arkansas EDGE Deatrich Wise Jr. with the 131st overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Wise is the second edge defender that the Patriots have added this draft after selecting Derek Rivers in the third round. Wise is a former teammate of Super Bowl hero Trey Flowers and actually was his successor in the Razorback defense.

The Patriots have double-dipped at edge defender for the second time in three seasons, after taking Trey Flowers and Geneo Grissom in the 2015 NFL Draft. Wise should be a lock to make the team, which means that the Patriots will likely carry five edge defenders on the roster in Wise, Rivers, Flowers, Rob Ninkovich, and Kony Ealy.

Geneo Grissom is now on the roster bubble, and there’s a chance that Ninkovich could be moved to linebacker full time, like he was used at points in 2016.

#131 Overall

Name: Deatrich Wise Jr.

Position: Edge defender

School: Arkansas

Measurables: 6’5, 274 pounds, with huge wingspan. Slow 40 yard dash of 4.92s, but explosive (10’5 broad jump) and quick (7.07s thre cone). Wise’s closest athletic comparable in the NFL is former Patriots EDGE Chandler Jones.

Wise was a two-year starter on the edge after Flowers graduated to the NFL. Wise collected 16.5 sacks, 23.0 tackles for loss, 6 passes defended, and 4 forced fumbles over the course of his college career. He is capable of moving inside and outside of a defensive formation. Dominated the Shrine Game over the offseason.

Strengths:

• Extremely long arms with great strength to hold the point of attack.
• Always wins the leverage game.
• Active at knocking down passes at the line of scrimmage.
• Shows strong technique to gain advantage over offensive linemen.

Weaknesses:

• Not the most athletic player in the open field. (ie: Don’t have him drop into the flat to cover.)
• Won’t get to the quarterback with speed.

Grade: B

Remaining needs: LB, SS, IOL

Remaining picks: 216, 239

Draft date and time

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 4-6: 5 minutes

Round 7: 4 minutes