New England’s defensive line received a massive boost last offseason when the Patriots addressed it in free agency through signings like Matt Judon and Davon Godchaux, as well as the draft selection of Christian Barmore. These new additions to the team immediately improved what had been a lackluster defensive line the year before into one of the league’s better and more feared units, and clearly, Bill Belichick wants to keep it that way.
The Patriots used the second of their sixth-round selections in the 2022 NFL draft to select Sam Roberts, a 6-foot-5, 292-pound defensive tackle out of Northwest Missouri State. Although he played football at the Division II level, Roberts ended his collegiate career very decorated, having won a slew of awards such as first-team DCAA All-American and second-team AP All-American, and was an explosive factor on a No. 2 nationally ranked Bearcat defense, finishing the season with 18 tackles for loss.
Additionally, Roberts won the 2021 Cliff Harris award, presented to the nation’s best small-college defensive player from sub-Division I schools.
However, even though Roberts’ Division II ranking may have fallen under the radar of many NFL teams, it is hard to know as of now whether his talents will translate to the NFL level against more intense competition. Regardless of this fact, he should immediately compete for a reserve spot on New England’s defensive line, which, after Godchaux, Barmore, and Lawrence Guy, lacks experienced and reliable depth.
I’m giving this selection a grade of a B-. While it certainly is hard to project how Roberts will fare against NFL competition, the selection of him in the middle of Round 6 shows exactly what the Patriots see in him — a potential role player who needs a bit of development but could very well end up making the roster. Moreover, Roberts has little to no expectations of contributing to the team right away due to his Round 6 draft status, which gives him time to hone his skillset and adapt his ability from Division II competition to NFL competition.
I personally like this pick because, if all goes well, it should give Roberts a few years to develop his abilities in a reserve role before the contracts of other interior linemen like Godchaux and Guy run out. If Roberts is good enough by then to start on an NFL defensive line, the Patriots would get at least two years of a good interior defensive lineman on a Round 6 pick’s salary, which could be quite the bargain depending on how good of a development Roberts has.
