The Patriots have now signed 25 percent of their draft class.
New England had just four draft picks this year, the fewest in the NFL, and one of them signed today: Conor McDermott has signed, according to Field Yates of ESPN.
McDermott, an offensive tackle from UCLA, went to New England in the sixth round of the draft. The Patriots liked the 6-foot-8, 307-pound McDermott enough that they packaged their sixth- and seventh-round picks to move up in the sixth round to get him.
A three-year starter at left tackle in college, McDermott has potential, with the height and arm length that NFL scouts like, but probably needs at least a year of getting bigger and stronger in an NFL strength and conditioning program before the Patriots would trust him to protect Tom Brady’s blind side.