- The New England Patriots selected Chattanooga's Cole Strange with their first-round pick in the
NFL Draft. - Selecting Strange in the first round was a bit of a reach, but
Bill Belichick does what he wants at the NFL Draft.
When it comes to the NFL Draft, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has a big board unlike any other in the league.
Belichick has a knack for trading picks, as well as sometimes targeting players out of smaller schools that are far off the radar of other teams in the NFL.
In 2020, Belichick used the Patriots' first pick of the draft on safety Kyle Dugger out of Lenoir-Rhyne University, a school that even the most dedicated football fans likely weren't familiar with before Belichick decided to spend his second-round pick there.
Three years before that, Belichick again used his first draft pick to get a guy from a smaller program, this time spending a third-round selection on defensive end Derek Rivers out of Youngstown State University.
This is why it should have come as no surprise when Belichick first decided to trade back in the first round of the draft on Thursday and eventually use the No. 29 overall pick on Chattanooga guard Cole Strange.
—NFL (@NFL) April 29, 2022
People were surprised even with Belichick's penchant for reaching for his guy.
—Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 29, 2022
—Timo Riske (@PFF_Moo) April 29, 2022
—Aaron Fuqua (@fuqua) April 29, 2022
But it's possible no one was more surprised than Los Angeles Rams head coach
The Rams did not have a first-round pick at the 2022 draft, having traded away basically every first-rounder they've had in recent memory to continually reload their roster with veterans. Given their Super Bowl win in February, it's clearly been worth it.
But when McVay saw that Strange had been selected in the first round, he and general manager Les Snead laughed, as they had hoped he might still be on the board when the Rams finally had their first pick of the draft in the third round.
"Strange just went!" McVay exclaimed.
"Oh my, U-T Chattanooga to the first round," Snead said.
"And how 'bout that. We wasted our time watching him thinking he'd be at [pick] 104, baby!" McVay laughed.
—The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 29, 2022
Barring a trade back, the Rams will eventually have their first pick of the 2022 draft in the third round on Friday.
With Strange already taken, McVay and Snead might have to get back to the film room to make sure Belichick doesn't jump them again.