Watch: Joejuan Williams’s Emotional Reaction Finding Out Patriots Drafted Him

The New England Patriots selected Vanderbilt cornerback Joejuan Williams after trading for the pick. Right after the decision was brought, New England shared a video of the moment Williams was told about the big news.

Williams is the Patriots’ second pick of the NFL Draft. They also drafted Arizona State wide receiver N’Keal Harry with the 32nd overall pick in the first round.

Head coach Bill Belichick was pretty sure about the team’s needs at the moment.

“This is another year where there’s a lot of big receivers—6’4″, 225, 230, whatever they are—I mean, somebody’s going to have to cover those guys one of these days.

“If teams are going to be three-receiver sets in the majority of offensive formations, then you better be ready to put five defensive backs on the field and be ready to have a slot corner. If you want to have a slot receiver, then you need to have a slot receiver if you want to put three out there. Somebody’s got to play in the middle. …

“Usually, you sit there at the end of the year and say, well, we had a lot of trouble blocking this player or defending this type of player or whatever it is, and then that kind of becomes a need for you. Either we have to change our scheme to do this, which probably isn’t that easy or you would have already done it, or we have to have another certain type of player on our roster that we don’t currently have that has a certain type of skillset. So, this is another year where there’s a lot of big receivers – 6-4, 225, 230, whatever they are – I mean, somebody’s going to have to cover those guys one of these days.”

According to Lance Zierlein, Williams was a nice pick for the team. He wrote, “Long press corner who has shown an ability to use his size and aggression as a zealot in contested catch battles. While he has traits to build upon, the Georgia game shined a light on his press inefficiency, lack of speed and inconsistent ball skills with his back to the quarterback. Coaching and scheme can improve or cover some of those areas, but the early results could be a bit uneven. If the technique catches up with the traits, the play demeanor and talent should make him a solid NFL starter.”

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