2014 NFL mock draft: Patriots select Trent Murphy

With the 62nd pick in Pride Of Detroit's 2014 NFL mock draft, the New England Patriots select Stanford defensive end/outside linebacker Trent Murphy. TjwGOblue is serving as the Patriots' general manager, and his reasoning for the pick is below.

The Patriots need defensive line help badly. Defensive ends Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones started 95.5% and 97.9% of the defensive snaps for the Patriots last year. Plus, Jones played an additional 159 snaps (or 32.5%) on special teams. Compare that to Willie Young (73.7%) and Ziggy Ansah (53.1%) and you realize that the Patriots could use some depth.

This leads me to draft Trent Murphy, a valuable and versatile piece for the Stanford Cardinal the past three years. This past season, the senior followed up an impressive junior year by leading the nation in sacks with 15. He also had 62 tackles, 1 interception, 6 pass defenses and 2 forced fumbles. Murphy is an intelligent, high motor and multifaceted LB/DE tweener who the Patriots can line up all over the field to help give Jones and Ninkovich a break.

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Check out the 2014 POD Community Mock Draft tracker for a look at all of the picks.