The NFL released its daily list of transactions on Tuesday afternoon and it included a previously unreported signing of a draft pick by the Patriots.
Seventh-round defensive end/linebacker Michael Buchanan has agreed to terms on his four-year deal with the team, leaving them with just one unsigned member of their 2013 draft class. Second-round wide receiver Aaron Dobson is the lone remaining man without a contract, although it shouldn’t be long before the entire group has officially joined the fold.
With Whitney Mercilus moving on to the Texans, Buchanan was expected to blossom into an early-round pick at Illinois in 2012 but it never quite happened for him and he slipped way down the draft board before New England snapped him up with the 226th overall pick. It probably didn’t help that Buchanan lost weight after breaking his jaw in a fight last summer or that he served a suspension earlier in his college career after an arrest.
Buchanan did show some pass rushing skills, though, and his draft position won’t matter if he continues to show them as a pro.