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In a piece now posted on ESPNBoston.com, Mike Reiss writes on Bill Belichick's draft blueprint unfolding.

To read the piece, CLICK HERE.

In the video above, ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss breaks down the Patriots' second- and third-round draft picks Friday night.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Moments after Duron Harmon was drafted by the Patriots, Dawn Harmon asked her son the question many fans were thinking.

"Baby, where are all your clips at?"

Former Rutgers safety Harmon was projected to be a late-round draft pick -- he wasn't even invited to February's scouting combine -- but the Patriots made him the 91st overall selection on Friday night. So understandably, it caught the television networks off-guard.

"Mommy, I don't think they knew I was going today," Duron responded. "I don't think they had any clips ready for me."

Harmon said he was watching "as a fan" with his younger sister and two close friends. Little did he know that not only would he be drafted Friday night, but that he would rejoin close friend and teammate Logan Ryan, who was selected by the Patriots minutes earlier.

"I think me getting drafted overtook (my mother's) sadness about my clips," Harmon joked. "This day has really been a great day."

When the duo arrives in New England, they'll be greeted by two former Rutgers teammates: cornerback Devin McCourty and defensive end Justin Francis.

In fact, McCourty called Ryan not long after he was drafted. Harmon, recognizing the area code, thought it was the Patriots calling him back.

"Yes sir, this is Duron," the 22-year-old politely told the voice on the other line.

"Man, this is Devin!" McCourty responded. "Don't answer the phone like this. This ain't anybody in the Patriots office!"

Entering his fourth season, McCourty will take on the role of mentor to his two former teammates.

"He's very eager to get me up there," Harmon said of McCourty. "He's very easy to teach me what he knows about the defense. He's eager to play with me again."

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Forget the gray hoodie. We might just see Bill Belichick pacing the sideline this season in Rutgers gear.

After drafting two Rutgers defensive backs in the third round -- cornerback Logan Ryan with the 83rd pick and Ryan's close friend and workout partner, safety Duron Harmon, with the 91st selection -- it's worth examining Belichick's extensive connection to the Scarlet Knights.

Belichick maintains strong ties with Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano, who served as head coach at Rutgers from 2001-2011. Schiano is known as a hard-nosed, demanding coach, a style that likely translates well to the culture of the Patriots locker room.

"I think the reason why Rutgers guys have success at the Patriots is because we're built to play football on the field, but live like a professional off the field," Ryan said after being selected Friday night. "That's something that we're taught, and that's something that I'm going to bring to the Patriots organization."

Moreover, Belichick's son Steve played lacrosse at Rutgers before joining Schiano's squad as a long snapper in 2011, giving the elder Belichick an opportunity to visit central New Jersey.

"The reason that we saw (Bill) occasionally was because of Steve," Ryan explained Friday night. "But it wasn't like (Bill) was there all the time. I think he was there supporting his son like any father would. And he wasn't there as a coach for him, he was there as a father. So it was a very relaxed time when you saw Coach Belichick."

Steve Belichick is now a coaching assistant for the Patriots, but Ryan doesn't believe there will be any problems posed by being coached by a former teammate.

"Not at all," Ryan said. "He went his path in life and I went mine. He's going to be a great coach and I feel like I'm going to be a great player. And it's nothing more than that. This is a business now and I understand that."

In addition to the younger Belichick, the Patriots had other resources in defensive back Devin McCourty and defensive end Justin Francis, who both played with Ryan and Harmon at Rutgers. Other former Scarlet Knights -- including receiver Tiquan Underwood, defensive end Alex Silvestro and defensive back Nate Jones -- have also called New England home.

"We've had a number of our players here comment on (Ryan's and Harmon's) personal characteristics," Bill Belichick said. "I think we're getting some high-quality guys as well as some good football players."

Both Ryan and Harmon were Big East All-Academic selections, while Harmon was a finalist for national sportsmanship awards.

"Defensive backs have to be some of the smartest people on the field, because they have to understand what their job is and how the game is at an extremely fast pace," Ryan said. "The smarter you are to digest that, it makes the game a little bit easier."

On the field, Harmon and Ryan paired in a secondary that Belichick called "a very good defensive unit" last season under new head coach Kyle Flood.

"That whole group, especially those (two) guys are close. They communicated well, played well," Belichick said. "Both are very productive both defensively and in the kicking game."

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Patriots coach Bill Belichick wore a navy Watertown Police hoodie to his news conference following Day 2 of the NFL draft.

"I support the Watertown police. That was an unbelieveable job they did," Belichick said, in reference to capturing the alleged suspects of the Boston Marathon bombing. "I'm sure we all followed it out there as closely as we could. Just supporting people that protect our safety and our freedom -- police, military. That's what makes it all possible for us to do what we do. Behind them all the way."

True to Belichick form, the sleeves on the hoodie -- which had the word "strong" on the back of it -- were cut around the elbow.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Coming out of South Charleston High School in West Virginia, Aaron Dobson was choosing between two paths -- football or basketball. The journey led him to Northeastern University, ever so briefly.

"I went up there and visited Northeastern coming out of high school actually, visited the basketball team," Dobson told reporters on a conference call Friday night. "I actually liked Boston, liked it up there, liked the school. But I just ended up leaning toward Marshall for football."

And now, after four solid seasons from 2009-2012, he'll continue his football career playing in suburban Boston, catching passes from quarterback Tom Brady.

"Oh man, that right there, you can’t beat that. [He’s] the best quarterback in the league," said Dobson, who turns 22 in July. "It’s amazing because I’ve been watching him for so long and now that I get the chance to go play with him, it’s a blessing."

Dobson follows former Patriots receivers Troy Brown and Randy Moss as former Marshall receivers playing for the Patriots.

"I’ve met them. I wouldn’t say I have any type of relationship where I could call them or anything like that, but I’ve definitely met them; Troy has been around the facility a lot and I’ve met him," Dobson relayed. "Moss is a great player. He definitely did his thing in the NFL. He came in and went straight to work. I’m going to try to come in and make my own name. Really just do what I can do to help my team win and do what I can do to make myself better and be great."

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots will have a new chess piece to play with on defense next season in former Southern Miss linebacker/defensive end Jamie Collins.

A high school quarterback who began his college career as a 212-pound safety, Collins didn't play defensive end until his senior season, when he tallied 10 sacks.

"I never thought sacking the quarterback would feel so good," Collins said Friday after being selected. "It just gives you a chance to pop a play."

It remains to be seen whether Collins, at 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, will play much with his hand in the dirt in New England. While he could lack the size to match up consistently against NFL offensive tackles, he is still willing to mix it up in the trenches.

"It's different going up against those big guys every play when you've played safety and you have to bang with those big guys. But it was fun," Collins said. "I just wasn't comfortable doing it, just being like finesse with the blocks and stuff. There isn't anything better than going up against big guys like that over and over and over, wearing those big guys out."

Instead, his background as a safety and his excellent athleticism -- he led his position group in five tests at the NFL scouting combine -- might suggest that he steps in as a sub package linebacker next to Jerod Mayo, while remaining a threat to rush the quarterback.

"My speed and my athletic ability, just the natural raw talent, just to do things that I have to do to get to the quarterback," Collins said. "You have a lot of mobility and there's a lot more things you can use as a defensive end, just because you played safety. I feel like I can use those to my advantage."

Last season, Collins had 20 tackles for a loss and four forced fumbles in addition to his 10 sacks.

"I had a couple strips on the quarterback and a lot of punches taking plays from behind," Collins said. "I feel like turnovers are the most important thing for a defense. You need turnovers to get the ball back to the offense."

After taking defenders from two major programs in the last draft (Chandler Jones from Syracuse and Dont'a Hightower from Alabama), the Patriots dipped into the basement of Conference USA for their first pick this season.

"I felt like I had to play hard every game just because we were losing," Collins said. "I felt like that was going to draw a lot of attention to me to see how I played, despite that we went 0-12."

As a sophomore, Collins' coach asked him to play gunner on the punt unit, a position generally reserved for defensive backs and wide receivers.

In March, Patriots coach Bill Belichick visited Hattiesburg, Miss., where he met with Collins.

"We talked. We talked a lot and watched some film," Collins said. "He was a great guy."

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Bill Belichick is often good for a head-scratcher on draft day, and the selection of Rutgers safety Duron Harmon in the third round (91st overall) qualifies this year.

Harmon comes from off the radar, projected by analysts as a later-round draft choice or a free agent.

But as we've seen in past years, Belichick views things through a different lens than most, and he surely has a role for Harmon in mind, likely starting on special teams (e.g. Matthew Slater in the 2008 fifth round; Nate Ebner in the 2012 sixth round) and possibly as a future center-field type safety.

While many rate players from an overall standpoint, Belichick is often projecting how the player fits on a 53-man roster in which there aren't an abundance of openings. That's the initial instinct on the Harmon pick, although one could make a case it's early in the draft to be thinking along those lines.

The Patriots have Devin McCourty, Adrian Wilson, Tavon Wilson, Steve Gregory, Nate Ebner and Harmon on a crowded safety depth chart.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The Patriots selected Rutgers safety Duron Harmon with their second third-round pick, 91st overall.

Harmon is the first player selected in the NFL draft who didn't attend the NFL combine. It's a pick that comes from off the radar, similar to 2012 second-round pick Tavon Wilson.

The 6-foot-0, 198-pound Harmon was clocked at 4.65 seconds in the 40-yard dash, according to Scouts Inc. He was Scouts Inc.'s 26th-ranked safety.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- In selecting Rutgers cornerback Logan Ryan with their initial third-round pick (83rd overall), the Patriots add to their depth at a crucial position while also helping out special teams.

As Bill Belichick has said in the past, a team can never have enough cornerbacks and Ryan joins the top trio of Aqib Talib, Alfonzo Dennard and Kyle Arrington on the depth chart. He figures to compete for a No. 4 or 5 role at corner with Ras-I Dowling, Marquice Cole and others, while also potentially factoring in to sub packages (57 percent of the snaps in 2012) at times.

Ryan has good size (5-11, 191) and ball skills as well being viewed as a strong tackler -- characteristics in which the Patriots place a high value.

At this point in the draft, players usually have something that has led them to slip down the board, and Ryan's slower timed speed might be what held him back a bit. But he's a tough-minded football player and Bill Belichick will usually find a place for players like that on the roster, usually starting on special teams.

The Patriots selected Rutgers cornerback Logan Ryan with their initial third-round selection, 83^rd overall.

Ryan, who said he learned from former Rutgers teammate and current Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty, led Rutgers in pass breakups in each of the last two seasons.

At 5-foot-11 and 191 pounds, he is considered to have good size and is a strong tackler with good ball skills.

Ryan is also considered a special teams standout. He started 27 of 37 games at Rutgers, all at cornerback, and deflected 39 passes and intercepted seven.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- In selecting Marshall receiver Aaron Dobson with the 59th overall selection in the NFL draft, the Patriots address a need with a high-upside prospect who projects to an outside role.

Dobson (6-foot-2 3/4, 210 pounds) was one of the Patriots' 30 pre-draft visits in the weeks leading up to the draft. The Patriots used about 25 percent of their visits on receivers, which seemed to be a reflection that they planned to draft a pass-catcher, and it ended up being Dobson.

One of the things that stands out about Dobson is that he fits a different profile than most of the other receivers on the roster. He's more of a pure outside target (good size, long arms) who has shown a knack for making the tough catch, although he doesn't have top-end speed.

The Pro Football Weekly draft preview calls him a "big, fluid, quicker-than-fast, short to intermediate flanker who projects best as a complementary No. 3 receiver." The draft preview notes that he ran a limited route tree, which will be one area to monitor as he makes the transition to a complex Patriots system.

The Patriots have one lock at the receiver spot in Danny Amendola (5-11, 188), and if Julian Edelman (5-10, 200) stays healthy he should also be in the mix. Dobson has a different physical makeup, which might have been why he was the pick over someone like Oregon State's Markus Wheaton (5-11, 189). Dobson also has experience on special teams as a gunner, but if things work out according to plan, his contributions to the Patriots will be more about catching the ball than what he does on fourth down.

Veterans Donald Jones (6-0, 208) and Michael Jenkins (6-4, 214) add depth at receiver, and their standing on the roster could be tied, in part, to how quickly Dobson develops.

In the video below from ESPNBoston.com's Patriots draft special prior to the draft, Trevor Matich discusses Dobson's skills at the 1:27 mark:

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The Patriots have selected Marshall wide receiver Aaron Dobson in the second round, 59th overall.

Dobson (6-2, 210) projects to an outside role at a position in which the Patriots had a need. He was a team captain at Marshall, where he totaled 57 receptions for 679 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games last season.

More to come.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The Patriots' selection of Southern Mississippi defensive end/outside linebacker Jamie Collins adds another explosive athlete to the front seven, both as a potential pass-rusher and coverage player.

At 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, Collins is considered a top athlete by analysts. He had 10 sacks in his final season at Southern Mississippi and is also viewed to be strong in coverage.

Collins, who had a 41.5-inch vertical leap, joins 2012 first-round draft choices Chandler Jones and Donta' Hightower as highly touted additions to the Patriots' front seven over the last two drafts. While he appears to be an "edge" player, first and foremost, he has the billing of a versatile talent who can fill multiple roles. With the Patriots playing 57 percent of their snaps in sub defense last season, Collins could help in a variety of spots, not to mention special teams.

The Pro Football Weekly draft preview dubbed Collins as a "developmental talent who could blossom with the right veteran guidance."

This is one piece of the Patriots' overall draft puzzle, and few can argue with the idea of improving the pass rush and overall pass defense. The Patriots made a similar second-round selection in 2010 with Florida's Jermaine Cunningham (53rd), and they obviously hope the selection of Collins (52nd overall) produces better results.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The Patriots have selected Southern Mississippi defensive end/outside linebacker Jamie Collins with the 52nd overall pick in the draft.

Collins (6-foot-3, 250 pounds) was one of the top combine performers at his position, running 4.64 in the 40-yard dash. In his final season at Southern Mississippi, he totaled 10 sacks, five pass breakups and four forced fumbles in 12 starts.

Analysts say he is an explosive athlete.

The 23-year-old Collins totaled 21 sacks at Southern Mississippi, which is the fifth-best total in school history. He played in 52 games, with 34 starts, and recorded 314 tackles.

Collins' homwtown is McCall Creek, Mississippi.