Tennessee DE Robert Ayers

connerman with the pick...

There's only one way to explain this pick: Bill Belichick must have breakfast with God every morning. Because there's no logical reason for Robert Ayers to be available anywhere close to the second round, let alone to fall to the one team known for their defensive line.

Yet it's exactly for that reason that the Patriots select the great Tennessee defensive end with the 34th pick in this year's draft. A possible top 10 pick on some mock drafts, Ayers' free fall gives the Pats a major asset in the second round and must make the Chiefs front office groan just a bit at the quality of player that fell this far.

Simply put, Ayers is one of the best coming off the blocks and has some of the best pure pass rushing ability in the draft. He weighs in at 273 and is 6'3" plus. He clocked a 4.85 in the 40 and has the versatility to succeed in either base defense, although his experience is more suited to the 4-3. He absolutely manhandled highly rated tackles like Michael Oher and Andre Smith at the Senior Bowl and he is very athletic for someone his size - playing both inside and outside on the line through his college career.

His lack of experience works against him a bit and maybe dropped him this far. Still, for a team already with Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Richard Seymour, Jarvis Green and rumored to be flirting with free agent Jason Taylor, it's the perfect place to learn for someone like Ayers. Plus, all three starters for the Pats are free agents after this coming year, giving the team a bit of leverage and breathing room in case something nasty goes down between now and then.

In short, the Patriots are known for being proactive, for giving themselves flexibility (i.e. trading a second rounder seemingly every year for a first rounder the following). So in a time where indecision and chaos could be on the horizon contract-wise with some of the D-line veterans, there is no way the Patriots fail to nab one of the draft's best raw talents.

Round 1 is here.

Previous pick: CB Darius Butler

Read more: Scouting Report (Mocking the Draft)

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