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Jacoby Brissett makes it two #PackPros to Pats

Jacoby Brissett was the fifth quarterback selected in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Jacoby Brissett was the fifth quarterback selected in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Ken Martin

The New England Patriots had a trio of picks in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. They selected a pair of former Wolfpackers with their first two, tabbing All-America offensive lineman Joe Thuney with the round's 15th selection, 78th overall, and then following up with quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who was drafted with the 91st overall pick — the 29th slot and the Patriots' second choice in the third round.

With Brissett's selection, NC State is the only school in the country that has produced three quarterback draft picks in the last five years; only four other schools have sent multiple signal-callers to the draft during that time. All three Wolfpackers — the Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson (No. 75 overall in 2012) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Mike Glennon (No. 73 in 2013) are the other two — were third-round picks.

It also marks the first time that NC State has had a pair of offensive players selected in the same NFL Draft since 2009 (TE Anthony Hill and RB Andre Brown, both in the fourth round). The Wolfpack hasn't had a pair of offensive players among the top 100 picks since 2004, when it was another quarterback and offensive lineman drafted — Philip Rivers was selected fourth overall that year, while big man Sean Locklear went 84th in the third round.

Brissett started his career at Florida, where he played sparingly before transferring to NC State. He started all 26 games during his time in Raleigh and completed 59.9 percent of his 765 passes for 5,268 yards, 43 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also rushed for 899 yards and nine scores during his time with the Wolfpack.

The Florida native was the fifth quarterback taken in the 2016 draft. Under center, the Patriots obviously have NFL legend Tom Brady, who is entering his 17th year in 2016 and is suspended for the first four games of the year, but their only other quarterback on the roster is third-year signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo, who has attempted 31 passes in his professional career.

"He's got great size," NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah said of Brissett after the pick was made. "He looks like a quarterback that can handle that cold weather, he's got big hands. He's a very good decision maker, not many turnovers at all. He'll give Jimmy Garoppolo a little competition now."

"If you look at the last five or six years in New England, you have no idea when Tom Brady is going to make it or not," Mike Mayock added. "He's 39 years old, so they keep drafting quarterbacks for whenever [Brady is done]."

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