Instant grades for the Patriots drafting CB Karon Prunty in Round 5

Sep 12, 2020; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks cornerback Karon Prunty (9) wears a Black Lives Matter shirt during warmups before a game against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The New England Patriots waited almost 80 picks between their third and fourth selections in the draft. When they were on the clock, they opted to go for a player who they had shown interest in for a while: Wake Forest cornerback Karon Prunty was selected with pick No. 171 in the fifth round.

Let’s grade the pick.

Instant grades: Patriots draft CB Karon Prunty 171st overall

Bernd Buchmasser: The Patriots did their homework on Prunty, inviting him for a 30 visit and having other points of contact throughout the pre-draft process. They also were a lot higher on him than plenty of other people: he is ranked 512th on the consensus board. Does this make it a bad pick, though? Not necessarily because he has some tools to work with as a long, speedy defender. | Grade: C-

Pat Lane: The Patriots met with Prunty on a 30 visit, and also at his pro day. Clearly, they were higher than consensus on him. He was PFF’s 24th-rated cover corner in coverage last year, and he has good size, so maybe there is some upside here, but it sure feels like he would’ve been available later. Corner is definitely a need for the Patriots, so that’s good. I believe there were much better corners on the board, but I’m going to choose to trust that the Patriots know what they’re doing here. Let’s hope they’re right, because I feel like the grades from most people are going to be pretty low. |