Without a first-round pick, the Patriots were able to find players who fit their system. That started with Jones, an experienced and smart player who can work the slot for the Patriots. They moved off the 61st pick and grabbed offensive lineman Joe Thuney in the third round. He's a likely guard in the NFL and will push New England's current starters for a spot up front. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett was a surprising choice in the third round. Will he ever get on the field in New England? One player who will is Mitchell, who can play inside and outside at wide receiver.
—Dan Kadar, SB Nation
Jones will be asked to compete for playing time with Justin Coleman and Darryl Roberts, as Ryan and Malcolm Butler are the presumed starters in 2016.
The Patriots needed help on the offensive line as Nate Solder returns from a torn biceps, Sebastian Vollmer continues to age, and Marcus Cannon is connected to an awfully expensive price tag. Thuney will allow the Patriots to move on from Cannon, or at least give the Patriots some freedom to decide how to move forward with the position during camp.
The 6'3 3/4 Brissett is certainly a question mark for the Patriots, as now the team is locked in to carry three quarterbacks for the season, with Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo roster locks. Brissett is a wildly inconsistent quarterback that lacks a lot of polish. He's not very accurate, he struggles under pressure, and he has the worst deep ball in the draft, per Pro Football Focus.
The Patriots appear to be moving towards space-eating defensive tackles with Alan Branch, Malcom Brown, Terrance Knighton, and now Valentine, and all of these players are big enough to take on double teams and eliminate runs up the middle of the field.
Mitchell was the 2nd highest rated wide receiver left on my board and he's going to fit nicely with the Patriots. He runs Pro Style routes and has some of the best hands in the draft. He uses subtle movements to generate separation and plays bigger than his 5'11 5/8 frame would suggest (he has the wing span of someone 6'3). He's played some pretty shaky quarterback performances, so he'll be happy to line up with Tom Brady.
Grugier-Hill measures in at 6'2, 210 lbs and runs a 4.45 40 yard dash and 6.89 3 cone, and owns a 38.5 inch vertical and 10'9 broad jump. He likely projects to be a pure special teams player, a la Nate Ebner and Brandon King, but he was actually a successful linebacker in college. He was First Team all conference for two straight seasons. He led the team in tackles as a junior, while also adding 9.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions. He added 6.5 sacks in his senior season, showing a nose for the big play.
Roberts has a knack for timing up his A Gap blitzes, an important role in the Patriots defense. He has range, he has speed, and he has strength to stop the run up the gut. The only problem is his size. Roberts measures in at 5'11 3/8 and 234 lbs. He runs a 4.6 40 and leaps a 10' broad jump. His 88 solo tackles in 2015 led college football and he makes plays all over the field.
Karras measures in at 6'3 3/4, 307 lbs and was named All Big Ten 3rd Team this past season after serving as the team's starting right guard. He also played center in the season finale. Karras registered 43 starts at right guard over his career.
I'm an admittedly big fan of Lucien, having previously stated that I would be willing to spend a 2nd or 3rd round pick on him. He has some of the best hands in the draft and runs a pro style array of routes, including every single route that Brandon LaFell was asked to run last season.