ESPN

In a piece now posted on ESPN.com, draft analyst Todd McShay goes through the AFC and selects one "impact" pick for each team and one pick that could be considered "questionable."

For the Patriots, he selects Marshall receiver Aaron Dobson for the impact category.

"I've been saying for months that Dobson had 'Patriots' written all over him," McShay writes. "Of all the top receivers in this class, Dobson has the instincts, savvy and ball skills to pick up their offense and break their trend of busts at the position. He's not a burner, but he's 6-foot-3, has phenomenal body control, and great hand-eye coordination."

At the opposite end of the spectrum, McShay is curious about Rutgers safety Duron Harmon, the team's second third-round pick (91st overall).

"We had a sixth-to-seventh-round grade on him," McShay writes. "He's the kind of player the Patriots have often selected at that position, so we'll see if they have a specific role in mind, and I'll be curious to find out what they saw that I didn't."

To read the piece, CLICK HERE (Insider content).

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The Patriots have scouted their first four draft selections for months, but Friday night was the first opportunity for reporters to get to know the new guys.

Interviewed by conference call shortly after they were picked, each player's story began to emerge.

Jamie Collins hails from McCall Creek in southwest Mississippi, just north of the Louisiana border. He attended the University of Southern Mississippi, located in nearby Hattiesburg. And if you recognize the name, that's because its most famous resident is former NFL quarterback Brett Favre.

Yes, Collins knows Favre. In fact, the two have fished together, and exchanged texts before this week's draft. Collins is strictly a bass fisherman, and a pretty good one, he says.

"But I don't like to brag. I just like to go out and prove it," Collins said.

Aaron Dobson is from Dunbar, West Virginia, a small city just up the Kanawha River from the state capital, Charleston. On the other side of Charleston is Rand, hometown of former NFL receiver Randy Moss. Both played at Marshall University, some 50 miles west.

Off the field, Dobson says he "plays video games" and "just likes to kick it with my family and friends."

The Patriots' pair of third-round picks, of course, know a little about each other. Logan Ryan and Duron Harmon not only were teammates at Rutgers, but close friends and workout partners. Their families, as well as Devin McCourty's family, are well-acquainted with one another.

Ryan grew up in Voorhees, New Jersey, which is not too far from Philadelphia. Not surprisingly, he was an Eagles fan. And if you're looking for personality out of these first four picks, Ryan's your man.

Telling reporters he's a "family guy," Ryan said he and his girlfriend have a one-year old puppy. It's a puggle -- they couldn't get a pit bull, so "we had to go with the next fiercest thing" -- and its name is Nala, after The Lion King character.

"I'm seeing my dog grow up," he joked. "I got (it) last year (and it) woke me up at all times in the middle of the night."

Just wait until he has kids.

Finally, Harmon's hometown is Magnolia, Delaware. He was one of 10 national finalists for the Senior CLASS Award and the ARA Sportsmanship Award.

Harmon and Ryan will be arriving at Gillette Stadium for rookie minicamp next month as former teammates and friends, a rarity in the NFL, and with a familiar mentor in Devin McCourty.

On the other end of the spectrum, Collins doesn't know any Patriots players, and will be moving nearly 1,500 miles from home.

"(I'm) going in cold," he said.

Here's some advice: Pack warm clothes, and your new teammates will do the rest.

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. -- 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.