By DannyPicard
CSNNE.com
FOXBORO -- @font-facefont-family: "Times New Roman";p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormalmargin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; table.MsoNormalTablefont-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; div.Section1page: Section1; With the New England Patriots trading their 28th overallpick to the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night, the AFC East saw only fourtotal draft selections in the first round.
All four teams in the division made one pick, with theBuffalo Bills selecting Alabama defensive end Marcell Dareus, third overall.
What we like about him is his size, speed and athleticability, said Bills general manager Buddy Nix. And on top of all of that ishow hard he plays. Hes got a great motor, plays hard, tries to make a playevery snap, and we need that."
The great thing about Marcell is we saw him playing on thetight end, on the tackle, on the guard and on the center, said Bills coachChan Gailey. He gives you a lot of versatility and well play him at defensiveend initially in our scheme. But I can see him lining up in a lot of differentspots for us as time goes on. I think he is a forceful player. You cant saythat about every defensive player that comes along. There are a lot of peoplewho make plays, but he is a force. He creates havoc on the offensive side andthat was one of the things that we obviously liked about him.
Dareus is considered, by some, to be the most completedefensive lineman in the entire draft class, and was one of two defensivelinemen taken by an AFC team in the first round.
The other wasTemple defensive tackle Muhammad Wilkerson. He was taken 30th overall by theNew York Jets, and is considered to be a five-technique defensive tackle because ofhis size and strength.
New England Patriots
Playing at Temple, Wilkerson didnt face strong competition,and is considered a raw, but promising player.
Wes Bunting, of the National Football Post, told CSNNE.com,Everyone is sky high on this kid, but hes kind of a flavor of the month guyfrom a smaller 1-A school. Hes got great size, but hes just raw. Id have ahard time taking a guy like Wilkerson in the first round who is a potentialstarter. I dont think hell contribute right away.
The Miami Dolphins went a similar route as the Patriots withtheir first-round pick on Thursday night, drafting Florida offensive linemanMike Pouncey, 15th overall.
The second and third rounds resume on Friday, and thePatriots will have five total picks in those rounds, which is one more pickthan the total number of combined picks that Buffalo, New York, and Miami havein the second and third rounds.
The Patriots have three second rounders (33rd overall, 56,and 60) and two third rounders (74 and 92) on Friday. Meanwhile, the Bills arethe only other team in the division with a second-round pick, at 34th overall.
The Bills, Jets, and Dolphins will each have one third-roundselection. Buffalo picks at 68th overall, while Miami picks at 79 and New Yorkpicks at 94.
Danny Picard is onTwitter at http:twitter.comDannyPicard.