Patriots head coach Bill Belichick addresses the media during his press conference at Gillette Stadium following Day 2 of the NFL Draft on Friday, April 28, 2017.
BB: Alright, so we're just working through the draft here today. Obviously, we've been watching a lot of picks go by, but I feel like overall our opportunity in this draft started a couple of months ago. The four players that we acquired already are also part of the draft process. Hopefully we've been able to improve our team, become more competitive. That's the ultimate goal. Today we were able to move around a little bit. We ended up taking two players, one on each side of the ball. We took Antonio Garcia here in the last pick, a tackle from Troy [University]. He was here last week. [We] had a good visit with him. We'll see how that goes, but I think he'll be competitive. He's done a good job for them down there. Derek Rivers – who we took a couple of picks before that – a defensive end. [He] played competitively in the all-star games and in a good program there with Coach [Bo] Pelini who we know very well. Bo does a great job with his players and his team. Derek's been in a good system, has been well-coached. Even though he's from a smaller school we'll see what he can do for himself here, as well, when all is said and done. Then tomorrow we'll have three picks in the fourth, fifth and seventh round and we'll try to take advantage of our opportunities, however those come up at that time. I'll take a couple of questions on the draft and then we'll go back and finish it up here.
Q: Is Derek Rivers a player you expect to see more as a defensive end or off the line as a linebacker?
BB: That's where he played; yeah. That's where he played at Youngstown.
Q: Can you see him kicking out to linebacker here?
BB: Yeah, I mean I don't know. Once we get the player, [we'll] work with him. Yeah, I don't know.
Q: What's the process of trying to figure out how a guy's skillset will translate to the NFL when he comes from a small school like Youngstown State?
BB: Well, I mean again, you can see him do that in the Senior Bowl. I mean he's been in a good program. Coach Pelini has been an NFL coach, been a Division One head coach. They were in a championship game there at Youngstown. He does a great job. Visiting with Derek [Rivers] last week, or two weeks ago – whenever it was when he was in here – he's obviously been in a good program. He's been well-coached, and sure, it's a big adjustment for him or anybody else moving to the National Football League. I think he's been in a solid program. We'll see how it goes.
Q: Will Antonio Garcia stay at tackle or could he move to guard?
BB: Yeah, again, I don't know. We'll see how it goes. He's played tackle, so he's got the length and I think the athleticism to play tackle. We'll see how it goes. I don't know.
Q: How close did you guys come to trading back into the first or second round?
BB: Yeah, well we picked our two guys here in the third round, so that's really the way it went down.
Q: Did the depth of this draft impact your efforts at trying to get back into the first round?
BB: I don't know.
Q: How would you describe other team's interest in trading for Jimmy Garoppolo throughout these past two nights?
BB: I mean, I'm happy to talk about the guys we picked. I'm not going to get into any of that. We're going to go forward with the team that we have. We've added two players today. We'll add some more tomorrow. However many it is, however it goes, and we'll go out there and compete and put the best team we can on the field.
Q: Is it safe to say that you plan on having Jimmy Garoppolo on your team this year?
BB: I'm not going to comment on anybody. Look, everybody that's on the team is here to compete and that's what we're going to do.
Q: Was it harder to make some trades this year without the luxury of a first or second-round pick?
BB: I don't know.
Q: How much does your relationship with other general managers like Bob Quinn and Jon Robinson help during the draft in trying to make trades?
BB: Yeah, that really makes it go a lot quicker; no question. That certainly makes it go a lot quicker. [They're] both great to deal with.
Q: Does Antonio Garcia seem like a guy who could be able to rotate from the left side of the offensive line to the right side?
BB: Yeah, we'll see. I don't know.
Q: Is he just a left-side tackle?
BB: I mean, I'd say primarily. He might have played over there on the right a little bit, but he's mainly been on the left side.
Q: How does not having a first-round pick affect the team-building process?
BB: How does that affect it? I don't know. You take advantage of the opportunities that you have.
