2011 SB Nation NFL Mock Draft: Round 2, Pick 60

Our annual 2011 NFL Mock Draft, with picks made by each of SB Nation’s NFL team bloggers, is in full swing. The latest pick in to the podium: the New England Patriots, at No. 60 overall.

Greg Knopping of PatsPulpit.com explains the choice, and our own Dan Kadar reacts to it, after the jump. Make sure you’re grading this pick for the Patriots, and checking out Pats Pulpit for all of your Patriots needs.

Greg Knopping explains: Having addressed the Patriots’ three most “pressing” needs with the first three picks (OL, DE and OLB), I went best player available with the 60th pick for the Patriots. At this spot, a few players initially were under consideration including, but not limited to: Torrey Smith, Allen Bailey, Stefen Wisniewski, Ryan Williams, Jordan Todman, Rodney Hudson, and others.

On my board, not only did I have Torrey Smith ranked as the top receiver remaining, I had him ranked as the number three receiver above both Jon Baldwin and Leonard Hankerson, who were both taken ahead of Smith. In fact, Smith was strongly considered as a BPA prospect with the 33rd overall pick. Clearly, at this point, Smith is an excellent value pick for the Patriots (in my opinion).

So what does he bring to the table as a prospect? For one, he brings great intangibles and character. Second, he has great size and speed, standing in at 6’1”, 204 pounds, and running a 4.41 40-yard dash. While he isn’t the most polished route runner yet, he has good quickness and should be able to improve further in the area. Overall, however, Smith has the potential to become an excellent NFL receiver, and could eventually take over as the No. 1 receiver in New England.

In this mock, the Patriots finished with OT Gabe Carimi (17), DE Cameron Heyward (28), OLB Brooks Reed (33), and now WR Torrey Smith (60). In hindsight and based on how certain players fell, I might have done some things differently. Overall, this is a pretty solid group for the Pats.

Dan Kadar reacts: If the draft falls likes this one has, it will be hard for New England to not pick Smith here. To be clear, he’s no Darrius Heyward-Bey clone. The Raiders bust is more a track athlete and Smith, while fast, is not. There aren’t character issues or work ethic troubles with Smith. He plays hard and is a team-first receiver. In other words, he’d be a perfect fit on the New England Patriots. In fact, if it came down to Jon Baldwin or Torrey Smith, it wouldn’t be a shock at all to see the Pats go with Smith over Baldwin.

In Smith, they’d get the big outside receiving option they haven’t had since Randy Moss. No, Smith isn’t in Moss’ league in regard to being a playmaker. But he’s a talented vertical receiver who could develop into a star working with Tom Brady. [Torrey Smith Scouting Report]