FOXBORO, Mass. -- The New England Patriots, desperate to improve their helpless offense, Sunday used their two first-round picks in the college draft to select tackle Pat Harlow and running back Leonard Russell.
Harlow, 6-foot-6 and 296 pounds, played at the University of Southern California where he did not allow a sack last season. Russell, 6-1 and 237 pounds, is a fast, bruising runner who starred at Arizona State and was the first running back taken in the draft.
Harlow was the 11th pick overall and the third offensive lineman selected. Russell was chosen three spots later, after New England moved up via a draft-day trade with Dallas.
In the second round, New England selected Clemson cornerback Jerome Henderson, who is 5-11 and 189 pounds. In the third round, the Patriots selected Calvin Stephens, a wide-body offensive guard from South Carolina who is 6-1, 285 pounds.
In the fourth round, New England picked Maryland quarterback Scott Zolak, who started for just one season. The 6-5, 224-pound Zolak threw for 2,589 yards last year with 10 touchdowns but also 19 interceptions.
This year's NFL draft is considered a generally weak one. For the first-time ever, the first six selections were defensive players.
On Friday, New England traded the No. 1 overall pick to the Cowboys, who hoped to sign Notre Dame running back Raghib Ismail. On Sunday, it was announced that 'The Rocket' had signed a four-year pact, worth a reported $26.2 million, with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadien Football League.
Patriots coach Dick MacPherson said Sunday, 'The Rocket would have been an exciting guy to have here, catching balls and getting everybody in the place excited ... and everytime he touched the ball something good would happen.'
MacPherson said Ismail's CFL contract is excellent but must make up for Ismail's admitted preference for the higher-quality football in the NFL.
'He made a lot of money but he's paid a price for it,' said MacPherson.
Harlow played on USC's offensive line for two years, after being switched from defense.
Joe Mendes, vice-president for Patriots player operations, said, 'We expect Harlow to step right in and start at right tackle for us. He should help solidify our offensive line.'
'Pat Harlow will make a difference,' said Patriots CEO Sam Jankovich. 'The things that excited us the most are his size, his intelligence, his competitiveness and his work ethic.'
Harlow, speaking on a conference call from Los Angeles, said he was not dismayed by the Patriots' 1-15 record last season, 'I look forward to the challenge of being an impact player.'
He was in New England two weeks ago and said that MacPherson 'liked my mean attitude... I think the only way to play football is to go after people.'
Russell played just one season at Arizona State after spending two years in junior college. He averaged 4.7 yards per carry last year, totalling 810 yards, plus 22 receptions for 257 yards.
'He's an extremely strong runner with good hands,' said Mendes. 'To get a big back who can do the things he does is very exciting.'
Russell grew up in the Los Angeles area. In a conference call Sunday, he made the surprising remark that he wanted to get away from Southern California and was looking forward to New England's harsher climate.
'I wanted to get away from California and the warm-weather deal,' he said. 'I've been in California all my life and I felt it was time for a change.'
MacPherson said that Russell, who New England considered using its first pick on, 'has got tailback speed and tailback moves and fullback size.'
When Russell came out of high school, he was one of the running backs most sought-after by colleges. For academic reasons he could not play his first year at ASU and then went to junior college at Mt. San Antonio in Walnut, Calif.
Russell might be used by New England as part of a two-back offense, pairing with former All-Pro John Stephens, also a hard-hitting runner.
'You've got to have those kinds of running backs and you can't have too many of them,' said MacPherson.
To get Russell, New England enticed Dallas to swap first-round selections, exchanging the 14th pick for No. 17, in return for a fourth- round draft pick.
Henderson played both man-to-man and zone coverages at Clemson and said, 'I think I excelled at both.' MacPherson said he valued the cornerback because 'he is very, very aggressive.'
Mendes said that Henderson has 'excellent speed and we hope he can contribute soon, especially on nickel and dime (fifth and sixth defensive back) situations.'
Calvin Stephens, according to Jankovich, 'has great potential. Our coaches really liked his size, his bulk, his toughness and his work ethic.' Jankovich said that acquiring talented offensive linemen is only the first part of making them valuable contributors: 'Now we better make a commitment to coach them.'
