Bill Belichick has long gone against the grain at the annual NFL draft.
This year, he shocked many by doing exactly what most Patriots fans wanted him to do: get talent on defense.
New England traded up TWICE, which goes against basically everything the Patriots have done in the draft since Belichick took over the reigns in 2000.
The Patriots traded their 27th overall pick and a third rounder to Cincy in exchange for the 21st overall pick in which they selected Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones.
The 6-foot-5 inch defensive end has tremendous size and speed and rose to as high as a top 10 pick on many mock draft boards this week.
New England’s second first round pick was originally slotted No. 31 overall but they traded that away and a fourth rounder, this time to Denver, in exchange for the No. 25 overall pick.
With it, the Patriots selected Alabama linebacker Dont’a Hightower.
Hightower started 12 games at middle linebacker for the national champion Crimson Tide, leading the team with 85 tackles. He also had an interception and four sacks during the title year.
The Patriots had previously not moved up in the first round since 2003 when they selected Ty Warren.
