Eliot Wolf breaks down Patriots' decision to trade up for Gabe Jacas
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Edge.
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That's been a position that has been named as one of the Patriots' top needs in the draft, and New England wasted no time in securing a top defender to add to the depth chart.
In the second round, the Patriots traded up and selected Illinois edge Gabe Jacas, whom executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said came as a surprise that he was still available.
"Yeah, we were exploring the board, and Gabe was the highest-rated player that we had on there. Obviously, at a position of need, and we just felt like rather than waiting," Wolf told reporters following the conclusion of rounds 2 and 3. "I was a little bit surprised that he wasn't off the board already. So, we tried to pull the trigger. We were calling a bunch of teams before we ended up making the trade, and fortunately, the Chargers wanted to acquire some more picks, so we were able to get up and get the player that we coveted."
Wolf added that the play style is what they are "all about," adding that they noticed his "toughness, determination, grit."
"He plays a ton of snaps. He plays really hard. He's super physical," he added. "He runs to the ball. Not afraid to take on blockers. His junior year, he played a little bit more inside on third downs and things like that, so that's something that we felt like he could do. Just really the play style is something that stood out, and as far as the visit, this guy is high energy. He's all about football. He wants to be good. He's powerful.
And with that, it also helps that the entire coaching staff was a huge fan of Jacas, with Wolf saying they were "ecstatic" to draft him.
"He was one of the guys that came in and everyone was just kind of gushing about him," Wolf explained. "His energy, his personality. He's all about football. He's a tough guy. Frank Piraino, our strength coach, was fired up about him because he's a weight room guy and a wrestler which, obviously, Frank has that background as well. So yeah, he made quite an impression when he was here."
One thing is clear: Jacas is in the right place to develop into a truly top-tier defender.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Eliot Wolf breaks down Patriots' decision to trade up for Gabe Jacas