New England Patriots: Day 3 draft selections make the grade

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New England Patriots Rhamondre Stevenson. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

The New England Patriots rebounded from a questionable Day 2 to score on one pick on Day 3, after years without finally selecting a big running back for short-yardage situations.

Having harped upon this need for quite a while, the Patriots finally made the right move and chose the right guy in Rhamondre Stevenson of Oklahoma.

Now, does this mean that Stevenson will be the next Corey Dillon (not hardly) or even LeGarrette Blount, he of the 18 touchdowns in 2016? …Not likely.

Here’s what NFL.com had to say about Stevenson:

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"Overview Wrecking ball of a runner who tends to be all fight and no flight between the hash marks. Stevenson’s burly, thick frame and punishing demeanor clearly takes a toll on defenses as the game rolls on. He’s at his best as a downhill runner, gathering momentum to attack the second level, but sees his effectiveness plummet when defenses can spill him wide or when he’s bouncing runs outside unnecessarily. He doesn’t have much finesse in his game and will leave some yardage on the field due to inconsistent vision and feel for run lane development. Stevenson can act as a change-of-pace bully or a quality three-down backup for a team that values downhill, power football."

So why is this pick such a good one? “Wrecking ball of a runner … ” That about says all that needs to be said. That’s exactly what New England needs.

The selection makes great sense. That’s why it’s hard to believe the Patriots actually made this pick.

Day 2 was panned in this space, not because of the players selected, they may in fact be solid to very, very good. The reason was positional.

The Patriots selected a defensive tackle and an edge player. They didn’t have pressing needs at either of those spots and had spent big in free agency on those positions.

Their needs at offensive tackle and a big back needed to be addressed and weren’t. In addition, they shipped off two 4th round picks in the trade-up for Christian Barmore. Not good.

But on Day 3, they did the right thing. They took that pressing need for a change. This time it was the big back, and one suggested, Stevenson. Getting him in the 4th round is nice.

Stevenson is a classic big back. He’s been listed anywhere from about 230 pounds to much heavier. He can run as he averaged 7.2 yards per carry in his two seasons at Oklahoma.

He also scored 13 touchdowns in those two seasons. Patriots running backs don’t get into the end zone much, but Stevenson probably will, especially running behind road-grader Trent Brown.

It’s interesting to this writer that even very astute observers think Stevenson may not be much of a contributor next season. Balderdash. Pure baloney.

This team can’t pick up a first down in short-yardage or a touchdown from a yard or two out. Stevenson will be an immediate contributor. Count on it. Anything stated to the contrary is foolish.

This pick guarantees the Patriots a better grade for the Day and likely elevates their overall grade for the entire draft. How far higher? The remaining picks though less consequential will decide.

Yet, never, ever rule out the potential of a sixth or seventh-round pick. You never know when you might unsuspectingly strike gold, now do you?

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