Patriots Trade Up, Select LB Josh Uche in 2nd Round
The New England Patriots made a trade on Day 2 of the NFL Draft. They traded the 71st and 98th picks to the Baltimore Ravens for the 60th and 129th overall selections, per ESPN's Field Yates. With the 60th pick New England selected Michigan linebacker Josh Uche.
Here is what SI's Bill Huber wrote about Uche in the pre-draft process under his "what we like" section of Uche's draft profile on Packer Central:
"Then again, at 6-foot-1 1/8 and 245 pounds, Uche is a tweener. What he does best is rush the passer but his body looks more like a linebacker. That’s not to say he can’t excel in a multiple role. It’s just that there’s even more projection than usual. “I feel like I'm one of the best edge rushers in this draft class and also one of the best linebackers in this draft class as well. I can do everything from cover, play off-ball linebacker, and play on the edge too.” As a pass rusher, he’s sort of a one-trick pony with everything based on speed."
With Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins now gone, New England signed former Jets LB Brandon Copeland this offseason, but did nothing else to address the position prior to the draft, let alone adding more pass rushers. Getting Uche - who is a young, talented, versatile linebacker - is a great chess piece that can be moved around the Patriots front-seven.
