Patriots fans don't have a first-round draft pick to ponder as the 2016 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night in Chicago, so here are 59 number-based notes and nuggets surrounding the draft to make the wait for No. 60 only slightly more bearable.
1 – College jersey number worn more and more often of late by elite college prospects at various positions, though mainly wide receiver and cornerback. This year that includes draftable WRs Laquon Treadwell, Corey Coleman, Braxton Miller, DeRunnya Wilson, Paul McRoberts, Keyarris Garret, Cayleb Jones and Tajae Sharpe, as well as CBs Vernon Hargreaves III, Artie Burns, Harlan Miller, Deiondre Hall, Kevin Peterson, Tavon Young and others. Some think wearing the No. 1 is an automatic red flag against a player as a potential "Me" guy.
2 – Number of consecutive picks New England will have in the second round, picking at No. 60 and then 61 on Friday night. The last time the Patriots made consecutive picks in a draft was in 2011 when the team took Stevan Ridley and Ryan Mallett in the third round, Nos. 73 and 74 overall.
3 – Or, III. Suddenly it seems like endless draft prospects wear III on the jerseys to signify them as next in the name line. While not too long ago RGIII was unique, this year there is a growing number of IIIs. That includes the likes to top cornerbacks Vernon Hargreaves III and Williams Jackson III, as well as lesser-rated cover man Cleveland Wallace III.
4 – Number of quarterbacks who are projected to potentially go in the first round on Thursday night in Chicago. While Carson Wentz and Jared Goff seem like first-round locks, the status of Paxton Lynch and Connor Cook is a bit more unsettled.
5 – Number of times in Patriots draft history (since the merger) that the team has not picked in the first round. That includes 1972, 1974, 2000, 2009 and 2013. The three most recent came during the Bill Belichick era.
6 – The round in which the greatest quarterback in NFL history – Tom Brady – was selected in the 2000 NFL Draft. It's the gift that literally keeps on giving to the Patriots and all of Patriot Nation.
7 – The final round of the draft since it was shortened in 1994. The Patriots hold a pair of selections in the seventh round this weekend.
8 – The round in which Patriots Hall of Famer Troy Brown was selected out of Marshall in 1993, the last year the draft format was longer than seven rounds.
9 – Running backs selected in the first round of the 1941 draft, most in opening-round history for the position. That's a far cry from recent drafts in 2013 and 2014 in which no running backs were selected. Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliot should ensure, early on, that at least one running back goes in the first round this year.
10 – Times that the Patriots have taken at least two players from one school in the same draft, including New England's selection of Trey Flower and AJ Derby out of Arkansas last spring.
11 – Total number of picks the Patriots hold heading into the 2016 NFL Draft. Also the number of former second-round picks currently on the New England roster.
12 – Number of college head coaches who will be in Chicago for this year's draft. Though the group is mostly guys from power programs like Alabama's Nick Saban and Ohio State's Urban Meyer, North Dakota State's Chris Klieman will also be there to support his quarterback, Carson Wentz.
13 – Number of times underclassmen have gone in the top-10 of the last two drafts, including six in 2014 when a record 61 underclassmen were drafted overall.
14 – Record for consecutive years that a college program had a player selected in the first round, set by Miami from 1995-2008. Alabama has the longest current streak at seven years, from 2009 through last spring. It's expected to extend that streak to eight.
15 – Total number of offensive and defensive linemen that Nolan Nawrocki has in his top 32-overall prospects in his NFL Draft 2016 Preview.
16 – Draft pick used on Patriots Hall of Fame nominee Raymond Clayborn in the 1977 NFL Draft.
17 – Number of times since 2000 that New England has traded up in draft day exchanges.
18 – Spot where the Ravens selected Joe Flacco in the first round in the 2008 draft, the last FCS quarterback taken in the first round prior to the expected selection of Carson Wentz this year.
19 – Number of times since 2000 that New England has traded down in draft day exchanges.
20 – Number of pass completions Jimmy Garoppolo – the highest drafted QB in New England under Bill Belichick, taken in the second round in 2014 – has in his NFL career, compared to Tom Brady's 4,953
21 – While the Patriots have never picked at No. 20 under Bill Belichick, one spot later the team has picked four times since 2000, securing Daniel Graham, Vince Wilfork, Laurence Maroney and Chandler Jones.
22 – Times that a quarterback was selected No. 1 overall in the draft from 1970-2015.
23 – Number of Boston College players the Patriots have taken in their draft history, more than any other school. That includes two players during the Belichick era in Dan Koppen (2003) and Ron Brace (2009).
24 – New England jersey number of 1995 Patriots first-round pick Ty Law.
25 – Number of prospects invited to be in attendance in Chicago for this year's draft.
26 – Times since 2000 that at least three players from one school have gone in the first round.
27 – The jersey number LeGarrette Blount wore in Tampa Bay before getting traded to New England on draft day in 2013 for running back Jeff Demps and a seventh-round pick. It is the last draft day trade involving a player made by the Patriots.
28 – Number of Patriots past draft picks that remain on the current roster.
29 – The date of the Randy Moss trade. On April 29, 2007, the Patriots sent a fourth-round pick to Oakland in exchange for wide receiver Randy Moss.
30 – Number of picks the Boston Patriots had in the 1961 AFL Draft, including fifth-round selection Fran Tarkenton, who never played for the team and became a star with the Vikings.
31 – Number of teams that will make first-round selections on Thursday night, as no team has multiple picks in the opening round of the draft this year.
32 – The maximum number of compensatory selections that can be handed out in each year's draft based on the prior year's free agency signings/losses for each team. This year the Patriots have four compensatory selections at No. 96, 208, 214, 221. This is the final year that compensatory selections cannot be traded.
33 – Number of compensatory picks awarded by the NFL in 2016, due to the extra draft slot opened up when the Patriots forfeited their selection. Also the number of compensatory selections New England has collected since 1994, fourth most in the NFL.
34 – Jersey number worn by Bo Jackson at both Auburn and with the Raiders. Jackson was the No. 1 overall pick of the 1986 NFL Draft, but chose to play baseball rather than sign with the inept Buccaneers. The Heisman Trophy-winning running back reentered the draft a year later and was taken in the seventh round by Oakland.
35 – Number of receivers taken in last year's draft. NFLDraftScout.com rates 42 receivers as having draft-worthy grades this year, most of any position.
36 – Patriots franchise record for interceptions, shared by former New England first-round picks Ty Law (1996) and Raymond Clayborn (1977).
37 – Number of touchdowns in a Patriots uniform by 1995 third-round pick Curtis Martin, who played three seasons with the team.
38 – Jersey number of 1980 first-round pick Roland James. His selection actually marked the second time in four years the Patriots took a player from Tennessee in the first round, after New England landed Stanley Morgan in 1977.
39 – Times that the Patriots have made multiple selections in the same round of a draft under Bill Belichick's leadership.
40 – Number of times "Mr. Irrelevant" has been honored as the final pick of the draft. The tradition will continue this year when the Broncos make the 253rd and final pick on draft weekend. New England picked Marty Moore as "Mr. Irrelevant" in 1994, the linebacker went on to play eight NFL seasons and became the first "Mr. Irrelevant" to appear in a Super Bowl.
41 – The spot that the Patriots selected Andre Tippett in the second round of the 1982 NFL Draft, a pick acquired from the 49ers that brought the future Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker to New England.
42 – The spot that the Patriots selected Rob Gronkowski in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft, trading up two spots with Oakland to land the future All-Pro tight end.
43 – Total number of quarterbacks drafted in Patriots draft history, including eight in the Belichick era.
44 – Bench press reps by Ferris State DT Justin Zimmer at his pro day according to NFLDraftScout.com, which is the most in the country this spring but short of Stephen Paea's Scouting Combine record of 49 set in 2011.
45 – Number of what will be the Titans fourth selection in this weekend's draft, 15 spots before the Patriots will even pick once. Tennessee selects at 15, 33, 43 and 45.
46 – Pick in the 2000 draft, Bill Belichick's first selection in New England, used on Hawaii tackle Adrian Klemm. New England sent its first-round pick that year to the Jets as part of the deal to acquire the future Hall of Fame head coach.
47 – Jersey number worn by long snapper Jake Ingram, a sixth-round pick in 2009, who is one of two long snappers (Joe Cardona, 2015) drafted by the Patriots under Bill Belichick. Only four long snappers, total, have been drafted in NFL history.
48 – Pick number with which the Patriots took Matt Light, a future All-Pro, in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft.
49 – Or XLIX. The most recent Patriots Super Bowl win, coming after the team selected Dominique Easley in the first round of that year's draft. Each of New England's four Super Bowl wins came after the team selected a defensive lineman in the first round – Richard Seymour (2001), Ty Warren (2003), Vince Wilfork (2004).
50 – Career touchdown receptions for 1991 fifth-round pick Ben Coates, a 2008 inductee into the Patriots Hall of Fame.
51 – Minutes into the second hour of the second day of the 2016 NFL Draft that the Patriots are expected to make their first selection.
52 – The latest the Patriots have ever made their first selection in the draft – taking Jamie Collins at No. 52 in 2013.
53 – Number worn by Patriots linebacker Clayton Weishuhn, taken by the team the last time it held pick No. 60 in 1982.
54 – Number of draft-day trades the Patriots have made in Bill Belichick's 16 drafts with the team.
55 – Jersey number of linebacker Chris Singleton, selected No. 8 overall in 1990 after a trade in which New England sent the No. 3 overall pick and No. 29, a second-round selection at that time, to the Seahawks for picks No. 8 and No. 10 overall.
56 – Number of drafts conducted by the Patriots, with New England/Boston drafting 797 players in the team's history.
57 – Number worn by Patriots linebacker Steve Nelson, the team's No. 34 overall selection in the 1974 draft out of North Dakota State, the FCS school that's expected to produce one of the top two picks in this year's draft in Carson Wentz.
58 – Spot where future All-Pro tackle Sebastian Vollmer was drafted, despite the fact that he was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine.
59 – Number of picks the Patriots – already considered among favorites to win Super Bowl LI next February in Houston – were scheduled to have to wait to make a pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
