Patriots Trade With Jets, Move Up In Round 4 To Draft Kicker
The Patriots on Saturday finally swung a trade to move up in the 2023 NFL Draft — but the end result probably surprised their fans.
New England sent a fourth-round pick (120 overall) and a sixth-rounder (184 overall) to the New York Jets to move up eight spots in Round 4. Then, with the 112th pick in the draft, the Patriots selected Maryland kicker Chad Ryland.
New England selected Troy center Jake Andrews just a few picks earlier.
Ryland was the second kicker taken in the draft and largely was viewed as the second-best available. He’s the first kicker the Patriots have drafted since they took Justin Rohrwasser in the fifth round of the 2020 draft. Rohrwasser never appeared in a game for New England and was released in March of 2021.
Ryland spent the first four years of his collegiate career with Eastern Michigan before transferring to Maryland. During his senior season with the Terrapins, he converted 49 of 40 extra-point tries and 19 of 23 field goal attempts — good for the best field goal percentage in program history.
New England currently has veteran Nick Folk as its top kicker. Ryland will look to earn a roster spot during training camp.
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