Pretty much everyone was surprised by the Patriots' first-round pick Thursday night, when they took Chattanooga guard Cole Strange with the 29th overall pick. Most pre-draft rankings had Strange as a second- or third-rounder.
Count the Los Angeles Rams among those who were surprised. Head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead were holding a press conference at the time of the Patriots' pick, and their extremely honest reaction was caught on camera.
McVay: "Cole Strange just went."
Snead: "Oh my, UT-Chattanooga to the first round."
McVay: "How 'bout that? And we wasted our time watching him thinking he'd be at 104 maybe!"
The Rams' first pick in this year's draft is not until 104 overall, at the end of the third round and 75 picks after where the Patriots took Strange.
That gives you a good idea that it wasn't just draft analysts who thought Strange would go much later, but at least some of those actually doing the drafting as well.
McVay's laugh is also telling. While it's probably not meant to be directed at Bill Belichick -- and might even be a reaction he regrets after the fact -- it's still surprising to see anything Belichick does generate that kind of reaction from someone who was fawning over him at the Super Bowl just three years ago.
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