The Patriots have used the first-round pick they acquired in Thursday night’s trade down with the Cowboys to select Rutgers cornerback Devin McCourty with the 27th overall pick.
Considering the talent left on the board at need areas for New England (Jared Odrick, Sergio Kindle, Jerry Hughes) and the Pats’ religious use of early picks on corners in recent years, the selection is a surprise.
McCourty, though, is an immediate impact special teamer (seven blocked kicks in college, one return touchdown in ’09), with 4.41 speed at a rock-solid 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds.
Also a willing tackler — if lacking elite ball skills — he’ll most likely battle for time in sub-packages on defense as a rookie.
