By Bruce Allen, Patriots Daily Staff
They did it again. Just when you had figured out what direction the Patriots were going with their top pick, they go and take a guy seemingly out of nowhere.
This year it was Rutgers cornerback Devin McCourty ( @DMcCourty21 ) that came as a surprise pick at #27. (After a pair of trades that eventually netted them the #90 pick) No, not a pass rushing linebacker or defensive lineman, a cornerback. Get ready for plenty of second-guesses on this one tomorrow.
This CBSSports.com scouting report is pretty glowing in its praise of the 5-10, 196 lb McCourty, describing him as a shutdown corner, who is also solid against the run. They laud his special teams abilities, with seven blocked kicks in his career, and refer to him as one of the “more electrifying kickoff returners in the nation.” He is referred to by one of his former coaches as a “coach on the field.” All great qualities, and things that Bill Belichick and the Patriots like in their players.
A kick returner is definitely a need for the Patriots, but in the first round?
The Patriots did pick up the third round pick that they wanted in a pair of trades with Denver and Dallas. They will now also pick at #90 Friday night, giving them four picks on the night. Will they be able to get their pass-rushing help there? We only have to wait 24 hours to find out.
Here is a highlight reel of McCourty in the meantime.
Hey, he does sack the QB in one of these clips…
Patriots Daily 
Not more than two weeks ago, Bruce Allen writes the following in an article entitled “How To Suck The Joy Out Of Watching Sports”
“1) Always dwell on the worst-case scenario — In whatever situation you’re talking about, if you want to make things really miserable for your audience, you need to focus on what would be the worst-case scenario. Project injuries, a massive slump, a complete loss of skills – anything to try and induce worry into the fans covering the team.”
I read and loved the entire article – agreeing with every point being made.
…and then I read this post.
Bruce references the CBS Sportsline profile of Devin McCourty, which refers to him as a “shutdown corner” three separate times. The profile also refers to him as one of the “more electrifying kickoff returners in the nation.” In my opinion, a shutdown corner is extremely difficult to find and there are only a handful in the NFL. In other words — well worth a first round pick.
However, in what can only be described as an attempt to “dwell on the worst-case scenario” and try to “induce worry in the fans covering the team”, Bruce’s analysis of the pick only mentions McCourty’s potential as a kick returner — “A kick returner is definitely a need for the Patriots, but in the first round?”
There were numerous examples of other media members talking of the pick only as a special-teamer but this was by far the most off-putting (especially considering the previous week’s post). Bruce references an independent source that couldn’t have talked more glowingly about McCourty’s potential as a shutdown corner, but the analysis immediately following makes no mention of this hard-to-fill position and dwells on the dime-a-dozen position of kickoff returner. I’m just glad McCourty didn’t also hold for field goal attempts or we’d be hearing how the Patriots blew their first rounder on a holder.
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Fair enough.
I’ll just say I didn’t know enough about McCourty at the time, and the shock of the pick got to me. I should’ve just said nothing.
The more I hear about this kid, the more I like the pick.
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