Cole Strange was the most puzzling pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The New England Patriots traded down to the No. 29 pick and they selected an offensive lineman that was projected to go in the third round. Bill Belichick had options like Nakobe Dean, Andrew Booth Jr., Christian Harris and John Metchie — he passed on them all to take a shot on an under-the-radar interior lineman.
The Patriots did lose Shaq Mason and Ted Karras this offseason, so there was a need for a replacement. The primary complaint from fans and NFL pundits was the timing of the pick, not the selection of Strange. It would’ve made much more sense to pick a top-tier player in the first round and get Strange later — but, Belichick didn’t believe he would “last much longer.”
Strange described his play style as aggressive and Belichick reiterated that same point. His college coach, Rusty Wright, gave some more insight into the style of play he carried at Chattanooga.
“What you see is what you get. You’ve got a guy who doesn’t have gloves on and no tape — a guy who plays aggressive, a guy who plays physical,” Wright told WEEI-FM.
“He can play a bunch of different spots, can play both guard spots. He went down to the Senior Bowl and they threw him in at center. He started the game and ended up going a bunch of snaps there, so you know he can do that. He’s just a big, aggressive guy that plays football old school. He tries to punish people and hurt folks and plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”
Belichick is a huge fan of aggressiveness and versatility, along with players who can come buy into the system.
“What you saw since he got to college was a guy that just, he started becoming a professional his sophomore year with how he treated everything,” Wright continued. “How he practiced, how he did in the weight room, how he handled his classwork, how he handled his day-to-day life to give himself an opportunity to get to this spot. You saw him play every snap for the last five years, never miss a practice, never miss a weight room assignment, never miss a class, never be on any list or anything and get himself an opportunity to get himself to get to this and he just continued to grow and get better.
“Very few people at our level playing offensive line or defensive line will outwork this guy. I know everybody says that, but he was always in the weight room doing extra, he was always on the practice field doing extra, he was always in study hall doing more time to get his degree. that’s just the kind of person he is.”
Despite the puzzling timing of the pick, it sounds like the Patriots brought in a perfect player who can make an immediate impact.
