The New England Patriots have traded up to the 45th overall pick to select Vanderbilt cornerback Joejuan Williams. The Patriots gave the Los Angeles Rams Nos. 56 and 101 to move up to 45th overall spot.
Williams told NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that he wanted, most of all, to end up in New England.
Williams is a unique athlete at cornerback, standing at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds. He also ran a 4.64-second 40-yard dash at the 2019 NFL Combine. While he’s still rough around the edges, and struggled with inconsistent in the SEC, he has the potential to develop into a gifted cornerback. He has started since his freshman year, and in his junior year and final college season, he was voted second-team All-SEC while logging four interceptions, 14 pass breakups and 61 tackles in 13 starts.
Williams started his career at receiver in college, and still has some of those ball skills as a defensive back. He’s still learning to track the ball in the deep game, which can result in penalties, but that’s one part of his game which New England will help him improve.
The Patriots cornerback room now includes Williams, Stephon Gilmore, J.C. Jackson, Jason McCourty, Duke Dawson, Jon Jones and Keion Crossen. It’s interesting to see the Patriots take Williams in the second round in 2019 after the team picked Dawson in the same round in 2018.
