FOXBOROUGH — The New England Patriots picked Florida defensive back Duke Dawson in the second round of the NFL draft after a flurry of trades during the day.
Dawson is a 5-foot-10, 197-pound cornerback who tied for the team lead with four interceptions last season. He picked off six passes in his career and returned three of them for touchdowns.
The Patriots came into the day with two second round picks and a third. They traded them all, but then traded back into the second round to grab Dawson.
The San Francisco 49ers traded right tackle Trent Brown on Friday to the New England Patriots a day after drafting Mike McGlinchey as his replacement in the first round.
The 49ers dealt Brown and the 143rd overall pick to New England for the 95th overall pick.
Brown is coming off season-ending shoulder surgery that has sidelined him for the start of the offseason program. But when healthy, he is considered one of the top pass blockers in the league at right tackle.
The Patriots also used a first-round pick on Georgia’s Isaiah Wynn on Thursday night as they try to shore up their blocking in front of quarterback Tom Brady.
The 49ers weren’t ready to commit to Brown after this season when he will be eligible to be a free agent and chose his replacement instead in the draft.
San Francisco took McGlinchey ninth overall out of Notre Dame to step in immediately as starting right tackle and possibly transition to the left side in the future. Joe Staley holds down that spot for now and is under contract for two more years.
The Patriots used their two first-round picks in the NFL draft to plug a hole on their offensive line and to bolster their depth at running back.
They selected 6-2, 302-pound offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn out of Georgia with the 23rd overall pick on Thursday night. They then chose 5-foot-11, 215-pound Georgia running back Sony Michel 31st overall pick.
They were just some of several needs for the AFC champions following the departure of several starters in free agency.
Wynn started his college career as a guard but shifted to left tackle as a senior, earning second-team AP All-America honors in 2017. Michel as a dual threat for the Bulldogs, rushing for 1,227 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior in 2017. He averaged 7.9 yards per carry.
Starting right guard Shaq Mason is also entering the final year of his rookie contract and will become an unrestricted free agent following the upcoming season. With Mason expected to garner a lot of interest in the free agency market in 2019, this could be a pre-emptive move on the part of Bill Belichick to get someone in the pipeline now.
The Patriots have started rookies up front before — left guard Joe Thuney started 16 games in his first year in 2016.