Elandon Roberts

Statistics in college don't always mean being picked high in the draft or future success in the NFL. The Pats selected LB Elandon Roberts in the 6th round and 214th overall.

Last year at Houston, he lead all Division 1 players with 88 solo tackles. His 142 stops lead the AAC.

Many felt he slipped in the draft because of his size (6' 235 pounds). He is considerably smaller than Dont'a Hightower (6-3, 265), Jamie Collins (6-3, 250) and recently retired Jerod Mayo (6-1, 250).

Could his size keep him from making the team?

The Cover Man

Should Pats fan be concerned about the Madden Curse now that Rob Gronkowski will be on the cover of the Madden 17 video game? Some of the players who were selected for previous years suffered injuries or had sub-par seasons.

The NFL is a very violent game. Things can happen on any play. Gronk is a hard player to tackle and takes huge hits.

Hopefully, things go well for him next season.

Kicking Less

The story was big enough to get time on the network evening news. Pop Warner Football will try a one year test and eliminate kickoffs for ages 5-10. They will look at the result at the end of the season. It's all about player safety at such a young age.

So many injuries in college and the NFL happen on kickoffs. Pop Warner kids can really vary in their size at those ages.

Many agree that the kickoff may go away from all levels of football. If it does, it will change the game forever.

The new NFL rule of placing the ball on the 25 yard line after a touchback may actually create more kick returns and injuries.

Moss Reinvented

WR Randy Moss had a great career in New England before he burned his way out of town with some outrageous press conferences. He is one of the last players who would ever be part of the broadcast media.

His great work at Fox Sports has landed him a job with ESPN as a studio analyst. His comments were very insightful and showed great knowledge of the game.

I'm looking forward to hearing from him next season.

Not Like Tim

Undrafted players will do almost anything to make the roster, including changing positions. QB Vander Lann was the Division II player of the year for the last two season, but realized his future was not at quarterback.

After the New York Jets signed him, they decided to convert him to a tight end. He embraced the move and is now working on his routes and blocking.

During an interview, he cited Tim Tebow as someone who was not willing to play another position as suggested by many. Tebow has not played during the last three seasons.

Future Stars

The Pats signed nine undrafted players shortly after the conclusion of the draft. They are an interesting group, including two tight ends and three defensive backs. Will any of them make the roster?

Every team signs undrafted players. The Pats have a history of finding some gems. In 2014, Malcolm Butler went from being undrafted to making the game winning play in the Super Bowl.

Danny Gives Up Cash

Some players chase every dollar. They sign big contracts, but never see most of it. Players get released because of their salary cap hit.

For the second consecutive year, WR Danny Amendola has restructured his contract in order to stay with the team. His cap hit for 2016 was $6.8 million. There was no way the Pats were going to put up with this.

Amendola saw the writing on the wall. He knows he is in a good place with the Pats. He agreed to a two year deal for $7.35 million, with $750,000 in  performance bonuses.

He was smart in doing this. He knows he is better off here. Other players would have become free agents.

It Wasn't Joe

I was listening to a Boston sports talk show last night while driving home. The host kept teasing the audience by saying that he would announce the worst pick of Bill Belichick's era.

It turns out to be LS Joe Cardona of Navy who was a 5th round pick last year. He has a five year military commitment, but was able to play last season while also serving at a Newport, RI facility.

I think it's pointless to talk about picks after the 4th round. It's a roll of the dice. I'm sure Coach Belichick selected him because of his loyalty to the Naval Academy where his late father coached for 33 years. The host questioned using a 5th round pick on a long snapper.

I was expecting something more profound than this selection.

Picking Mistakes

Too much has been written about mock drafts and players leaving college early. There are some hard facts that I read yesterday.

Underclassmen continue to leave with one year of eligibility left. They think they can hit a financial jackpot. Of the 107 who chose this, 30 went undrafted.

Twenty of the 101 Senior Bowl participants went undrafted.

The Scouting Combine continues to look foolish with 216 of 333 being selected, but leaving out 117 (35.1%). Teams reached out to 37 non-invitees.

The league is filled with stories of undrafted players who become successful and first round disasters. It happens every year. The draft is very unpredictable. It won't be any different in the future.

Time To Waste Money

Just about all players who sign contracts have never had so much money in the life. Many spend their money on foolish things like cars and jewelry. After their playing days are over, they will be broke.

I hate to read stories about frivolous spending. We see it every year. I find it so refreshing when I read something about a player making good financial investments and growing their money.

The Big Hit

LaremyTunsil from Ole Miss was projected to be among the top five picks in the NFL draft. A lot of money was on the table. Shortly before the draft, a video surfaced of him wearing a gas mask and smoking some type of substance.

This caused a great deal of panic among teams. He slipped down to 13th before being selected by the Miami Dolphins. Tunsil said one of his social media accounts had ben hacked.

He said the video was from two years ago. No matter what happened, his later selection will cost him about $8 million in contract money. It will also make him the poster boy for the dangers of social media.

Start Measuring His Jacket

If RB Kevin Faulk was trying to campaign for fan votes for the team's Hall of Fame, he hit a hone run the other night when he introduced the Pats #78 overall pick.

He want to the podium neatly dressed in a blazer and wore a replica Tom Brady game jersey. As he announced the pick, he said:  "The Patriots and Tom Brady select OL Joe Thuney from North Carolina State. His comments got many boos from the audience in Chicago.

His words drew raves from fans, Nick Casserio and Coach Belichick. It was a legacy moment for the former star. His comments will live forever and only endear him more to fans.

He might have sewn up the election that night.