In the final day of the 2014 NFL Draft the New England Patriots had seven picks to make with three selections in both the fourth and sixth rounds plus one in the seventh.
With pick 105 (4th Round) they selected C Bryan Stork of the National Champion Florida State Seminoles. A former tight end, Stork is 6’4″ 315 pounds and was a consensus All-American, an Outland Trophy finalist and winner of the Rimington Award as the nations best center.
With their second selection of the fourth round New England selected Wisconsin RB James White. White ran for 1440 yards as a senior and had nine 100-yard games in 2013. He is known for good ball control having only fumbled twice in his career and can catch the ball out of the backfield.
With their final fourth round pick (140) the Patriots added even more beef and some brains to the offensive line by selecting an Aeronautics and Astronautics major from Stanford G/T Cameron Fleming. A self described “science nerd”, he wanted to be an astronaut but at 6’5″ 330 pounds he was too big.
After no fifth round picks the Pats had three 6th round sections.
With the 179th pick they grabbed their third big offensive lineman G Jon Halapio out of Florida. At 6’3″ 323 pounds he is considered a forceful blocker but lacks agility. Started 43 games for the Gators.
With their second selection of the 6th round (198) New England drafted DE Zach Moore out if Division II Concordia. At Concordia he set school records in sacks (33) and forced fumbles (6). Moore is 6’5″ 269 pounds and can play the end in a 4-3 or linebacker in a 3-4 set.
The Patriots wrapped up their sixth round by selecting DB Jemea Thomas of Georgia Tech with the 206th pick. Thomas was a four year starter and had 3 INT’s his senior year. At 5’10” 195 pounds he is physical has good read/react instincts and can play safety or corner.
With their final pick in the seventh round (244) they selected Michigan WR Jeremy Gallon who is just 5’7″ and 185 pounds. Gallon who had 170 catches in his career for 2,677 yards and 17 TD’s is the Wolverines single season receiving yards leader (1,373) and holds the B10 record for single game receiving yards with 369. That single game total is second all-time in NCAA history. Gallon also has experience returning both punts and kickoffs.
photo credit: ian bethune – sox & dawgs