Within a few hours after the completion of the 2012 NFL Draft the New England Patriots added players to their roster when they signed three undrafted free agents.

An undrafted free agent is a player who was draft eligible in the recently completed draft but was not one of the players selected by the 32 teams.

In addition to the players they selected over the three days of the draft they came to terms with the following players.

South Florida offensive lineman Jeremiah Warren had a personal workout for head coach Bill Belichick, director of player personnel Nick Caserio and pro personnel director Jeremy Licht before the draft.

Warren played most of his time at left guard but did see some time at left tackle and some scouts even feel he could play center in some systems.

Iowa offensive tackle Markus Zusevics will also sign with New England.  Zusevics was a two-year starter for Kirk Ferentz starting all 13 games last season at right guard and was named an All-Big Ten honorable mention.

Zusevics was passed in the draft because he tore his pectoral muscle during the bench press reps at the February NFL Combine.

And his former Iowa teammate tight end Brad Herman will be joining him in Foxboro.  Herman wasn’t a big factor as a pass catcher but he is extremely athletic and several scouts referred to him as  “move” tight end which his the Aaron Hernandez type-roll in the New England system.

All three are possible long shots for the roster but would be good practice squad candidates or could possibly find jobs with other teams during the final roster scramble prior to Week 1.

UPDATE: According to NEPatriotsDraft.com, the Patriots have also signed DL Marcus Forston from Miami.

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With their final selection of the 2012 NFL Draft the New England Patriots finally went to the offensive side of the ball when they tabbed WR Jeremy Ebert of Northwestern.

With ten wide receivers already on the roster, counting Wes Welker who hasn’t signed his franchise tender yet, Matthew Slater the special teams demon and Julian Edelman who may move to defense, don’t expect Ebert to make the roster.

In fairness he will get just enough time in camp and a preseason game or two to make an impression.  If he does well he is a potential practice squad candidate.

Speaking of Edelman, Ebert is very similar in that he was a high school quarterback who converted to receiver in college.

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In his continuing search to strengthen his porous defense and solidify his special teams Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots once again stayed with defense selecting Nebraska CB Alfonzo Dennard with their first selection in the 7th round (#224).

Dennard had a better 2010 than 2011, earning the Big Ten Defensive back of the Year award.  He was projected as a late first rounder or second round pick but fell off this year when he didn’t have a good season.

Although he can be physical at time and his man-to-man skills are pretty good, he doesn’t recover well on double moves and has weak ball skills.

Dennard was arrested last weekend in Lincoln NE when he got into a fight with another man.  It took four officers to subdue him and he is facing charges for 3rd degree assault, 3rd degree assault on a police officer and resisting arrest.

In addition Dennard was ejected from a bowl game in 2011 for fighting.

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The New England Patriots selected Ohio State safety Nate Ebner with the 197th pick of the 2012 NFL Draft.

He mostly played special teams and went from not playing a down of high school football to being selected in the 6th round.  He says his favorite aspect of the game is kick off returns because “it’s a rush”.

Ebner, who is a star rugby player having won the MVP of the 2007 and 2008 World Rugby Cup, walked on at OSU and credits a lot of his progression to former Patriots LB Mike Vrabel who is now a coach for the Buckeyes.

He also overcame the loss of his father last year, when he passed Ebner’s team mates all wore wrist bands that said “finish strong” which was his dad’s motto.

He is expected to compete for time on the special teams unit.  How much time he plays on defense will be up to how quickly he develops and how healthy those in front of him on the depth chart are.

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photo credit: Columbus Dispatch

The New England Patriots traded the fifth round pick (#153 overall) that they got last night from the Green Bay Packers back to the Packers in exchange for a six round selection (#197) and two seventh rounder selections (#224/#235).

New England came into the draft with two firsts, two seconds, a third and a fourth selections.  They so far have moved around a bit and have selected 4 players – 2 in the first round, 1 in the second and 1 in the third and now have 3 more selections left.  With the deals they have gained an additional selection overall.

Head coach Bill Belichick seems to always have a good grasp on late round selections and with what appears to be a deep draft they could end up with some good quality players who may have slipped in the process.

One other thing to remember is that as soon as the draft ends tonight teams, including the Patriots, ca start calling the undrafted players in an attempt to sign them.

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With the 90th overall pick in the third round, the New England Patriots selected another defensive end taking Arkansas’ Jake Bequette.

He was an All-SEC First Team in 2011 and All-Sec Second Team in 2010 and the Defensive MVP in the 2012 Cotton Bowl when he registered 5 tackles and 3 sacks in the Hogs 29-16 win over Kansas State.

Bequette (pronounced Beckett) had ten sacks in this past season for the Razorbacks.  Once again he is a Patriots type player in that he is versatile in that he can also play linebacker.

He started 42 of the 48 games he dressed four at Arkansas and registered 140 tackles and 23.5 sacks.  He is the fourth member of his family to play football at Arkansas joining his grandfather, father and uncle.

Barring any late moves this will complete the day for the Patriots.  Their next pick, barring any trades, is scheduled for the fifth round tomorrow afternoon.

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The New England Patriots traded their second pick of the second round (#62 overall) to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for a third round selection (#90) and a fifth rounder (#153).

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The New England Patriots used the 48th selection of the 2012 NFL Draft to select safety Tavon Wilson of Illinois in the second round.

Wilson is the third selection for the Patriots in the draft and all have been on the defensive side of the ball with a defensive lineman, a linebacker and now a safety as the team tries to fix the leaky defense it had last season.

Wilson was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention for defense in 2010 and 2011 and was named the teams outstanding defensive back this past season.

He played all 13 games at safety making 48 tackles and had 1 INT and recovered two fumbles.  He has also played about two dozen college games at cornerback as well.  Not doubt the Patriots see him as a versatile performer on defense and as a punt return option as well.

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After having only moved up in the first round twice in the Belichick era, the New England Patriots did it twice in one draft when they traded their 31st overall pick and their 4th rounder #126 to Denver for the 25th overall pick.

With that selection, New England chose Alabama LB Dont’a Hightower.  Hightower was a 2008 Freshman All-American, 2010 and 2011 Preseason All-SEC Coaches First Team and a 2011 Consensus All-American.  He missed his sophomore season due to a knee injury and he redshirted.

With the Tide, he has played in the middle and he should compare favorably to Jerod Mayo in size and football accumen.

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The New England Patriots traded the 27th overall pick in the first round that they got last year from New Orleans to Cincinnati for the 21st overall pick.  The Bengals also get New England’s third rounder at #93 overall.

With the 21st selection of the 2012 NFL Draft, the Patriots selected Syracuse University DE Chandler Jones.  Jones who missed the first five games with a knee injury registered 4.5 sacks in just 7 games and surely would have been a Top 10 pick if it weren’t for the injury. He was a 2011 First Team All-Big East selection.

His brother Arthur Jones plays for the Baltimore Ravens and his other brother Jon is a UFC World Lightweight Champion.

It is the third time Bill Belichick has moved up in the first round also doing so in 2002 and 2003 before this year.

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