The pre-draft process continues for the New England Patriots, with their latest player meetings taking them to the alma mater of an infamous recent top draft pick.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Patriots are meeting with Arizona State cornerback Chase Lucas as well as linebacker Darien Butler this week. Per Mike Giardi, the visits will be in Arizona. Therefore, they won’t count as top-30 visits.
Lucas is a five-year collegiate player and team captain who took advantage of an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID pandemic. He’s described as long and lean with good ball skills and decent speed downfield (he ran a 4.48 40 at the combine). Some draft boards have him as a lower-tier cornerback prospect who could be a Day 3 selection. The Patriots have done pretty well in the past decade with corners drafted late or not even drafted at all.
Believe it or not, a current pro Lucas is compared to is New England cornerback Shaun Wade, so there could be some organizational comfort with his frame and style of play.
Darien Butler, also a team captain, leaves ASU as a four-year linebacker for the Sun Devils. He is undersized by normal Patriots linebacker standards (6 feet tall, 225 pounds), but has some playmaking ability as evidenced by his sacks, INTs and second-team All-Pac 12 selection in 2021. Butler could be a bit more of a project as he is expected to fall to the ranks of the undrafted come end of April.
Of course the recent Patriots top draft pick who also happens to be a product of Arizona State is none other than N’Keal Harry, drafted at the end of Round 1 back in 2019. Harry’s underwhelming pro career to date has nothing to do with the potential of these players or any draft pick, really. It’s just that the school name will likely come up and generate the wrong kind of buzz amongst fans and media.
Harry did receive a glowing draft preview from their coach, Herm Edwards, who coached the New York Jets from 2001-2005, making him an old foe and someone the fans and organization might have to think twice about trusting again. Edwards is actually joined by a braintrust of experienced NFL coaches in Arizona, including Marvin Lewis and Brian Billick. Time will tell if their new crop of players will have more success at the pro level. The Pats haven’t had luck with Arizona State players recently, including Harry and 2016 pick Devin Lucien.
The Patriots, with needs aplenty on both sides of the ball, continue with top-30 and on-campus meetings with players, gathering intel and analysis in anticipation of the upcoming draft. The NFL Draft begins Thursday. April 28 from Las Vegas, with the first round kicking off at 8 p.m.
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