It looks like the Pats really scored in the draft when they took Donte Hightower and Chandler Jones in the first round. One player who should be very intriguing is 6th round pick Nate Ebner from Ohio State.
Ebner presents a fascinating case study of players who get drafted. He wasn't invited to the Scouting Combine. In fact, he was only on the field for several defensive snaps this year as a safety. His strength is on special teams. A review of his games on Youtube shows a player who is devastating on punt and kick coverage.
His road to the NFL may have been greased by his relationship with his head coach Urban Meyer and assistant Mike Vrabel who are part of Coach Belichick's coaching tree.
We all know how much emphasis Belichick places on special teams. Ebner seems to be cut from the same cloth as Larry Izzo who made a career out of being a special teams player.Izzo was very seldom on the field as a LB. He could play the position, but his value was greater on punt and kick coverage.
Ebner is a very unique athlete with great skills as a rugby player. He will be given every opportunity to make the team. I think he has a great chance, considering he has the stuff that Belichick is looking for. Players such as him are easy to sign as free agents, but someone on the Pats saw something that made it worthy to expend a 6th round pick on him.
I can't wait to see him in the pre-season games.
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