With pick No. 96 in the NFL Draft, the Patriots selected defensive end Ronnie Perkins out of Oklahoma.
Most draft experts didn't expect him to be on the board at that point in the draft, including NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah who had him in his top 50 prospects and ESPN's Matt Miller in his top 40.
Speaking afterwards, Bill Belichick noted his physicality.
"Ronnie's a disruptive player, physical outside linebacker defensive end-type," he said. "We'll see how that goes when we get him here and work with him, but another guy that has good ability to be disruptive on defense and play physical, has a very physical playing style."
Perkins was suspended for the College Football Playoff semifinal game in 2019 and then six games last year due to a failed drug test, but Belichick said they are comfortable with the player.
"Really just going through some stuff, went through some off-the-field things that I really just had to get figured out as a person," Perkins said when asked about it on a conference call after the pick. "Dealing with some off-the-field stuff that kind of affected me on the field. So really just taking the whole situation and learning from it and taking it into this draft process and learning from that situation like I said. Just becoming an NFL player, learning not to make that mistake again and learning how to deal with that off-the-field issue."
The defensive end said he models his game after Willie McGinest and Dont'a Hightower.
As for what kind of player and person the Patriots are getting?
"One thing is Ronnie Perkins the player, I just want to say that they’ll be getting a great guy," Perkins said. "In the long run, I definitely know the Patriots fans will love me. Just from watching the past Patriots defensive greats, I definitely know they will love me and the way I play. Just as a person, they’re getting a guy who loves to interact with the community, who loves to interact with the fans, so they’ll definitely see me around New England a lot.
"Like I said, I just can’t wait to go out there and get there and get the whole thing, like man, I’m really a Patriot now. I just can’t wait."