Strange Strategy? Patriots Trade Down, Then Reach Up for Tennessee-Chattanooga OL Cole Strange
After trading down in Thursday night's NFL Draft to pick up extra value, the New England Patriots picked who they believe will be a valuable contributor to their rise back to Super Bowl contention in Tennessee-Chattanooga offensive lineman Cole Strange.
Originally with pick No. 21, Patriots mastermind Bill Belichick traded down to pick 29 with the Kansas City Chiefs and in the process acquired an extra third- (94th) and fourth-round pick (121st).
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Strange was an excellent defender for Farragut High School in Knoxville before signing with the Moccasins. As a redshirt freshman, he started six of 10 games played at left guard. Southern Conference coaches noticed his play in 11 games at left guard the following year, naming him second-team all-league. They repeated that honor for Strange in 2019 (11 starts at left guard, one at center) and 2020 (four starts in five games at left guard). SoCon coaches also voted him first-team all-conference for his play in 11 starts at left guard in 2021.
Strange is a highly experienced interior lineman who does a nice job of staying on schedule. He shines over the first two phases of the block, which means he gains early positioning and gets into the sustain phase with proper hand usage and footwork. He will lose a tug-of-war battle as a pure man-to-man blocker, but wins with lateral quickness and an understanding of angles as a move blocker. A snappier pass punch is needed to prevent sub-package rushers with hand talent from bypassing him too easily. His frame and play strength are a little below average, but he has done some snapping in practice, so he could land as a future starting center for a zone-happy rush offense.
The Patriots entered the draft needing help at linebacker, defensive end, cornerback and, of course, Bill Belichick's favorite - offensive lineman. In various mock drafts, they have been linked to Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd, Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean, Alabama receiver Jameson Williams, Arkansas receiver Treylon Burks, Georgia defensive lineman Jordan Davis, Boston College offensive tackle Zion Johnson, Clemson cornerback Andrew Booth Jr., Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam and Northern Iowa offensive tackle Trevor Penning.
A year ago, the Patriots drafted Alabama and Davey O'Brien Award-winning quarterback Mac Jones 15th overall and his impressive Pro-Bowl rookie season led them to a playoff berth. Jones led all rookies in wins, completion percentage, passing yards and touchdowns.
After an impressive seven-game winning streak in the middle of the season, New England lost three of its last four to finish 10-7 before being pummeled, 47-17, in the Wild Card game by the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills.
The Patriots - who were only a disappointing 4-5 at Gillette Stadium - finished with the NFL's second-best defense. Only the Bills (289) allowed fewer points than their 303. New England's +159-point differential trailed only the Bills (+194) and Dallas Cowboys (+172).
This offseason Belichick has retained most of the team's core veterans and even gone back-to-the-future with a couple familiar names from the glorious past.
New England re-signed kicker Nick Folk, running back James White, offensive tackle Trent Brown, backup quarterback Brian Hoyer, special teams maven and captain Matthew Slater and 2021 leading tackler Ja'Whaun Bentley. The Patriots are also bringing back defensive backs Devin McCourty (who turns 35 in August) and Malcolm Butler (who retired last season).
Newcomers include former Dolphins receiver DeVante Parker, former Giants safety Jabrill Peppers, Texans cornerback Terrance Mitchell and hybrid running back/receiver Ty Montgomery, signed from the Saints to fill the dual-threat role filled by Cordarrelle Patterson in 2018 and taken to the next level by Deebo Samuel in San Francisco in 2021.
The Patriots' key losses are two-time Super Bowl linebacker Kyle Van Noy (released last month), cornerback J.C. Jackson (signed with the Chargers), offensive guard Ted Karras (signed with the Bengals) and long-time offensive-line stalwart Shaq Mason (traded to the Buccaneers for a 5th-round pick.)
And, biggest of all, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left to become head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. With no official replacement yet, speculation is that Belichick will assume play-calling duties for the first time in his legendary career.
Already the NFL Draft's most prolific horse trader, Belichick earlier this week swapped picks with the Texans.
New England's remaining draft picks:
Round 2: 54
Round 3: 85, 94
Round 4: 121, 127
Round 5: 158, 183
Round 6: 200, 210
Round 7: 245
