No one can ever accuse the New England Patriots of ignoring tradition. They carry out tradition almost every year with their surprising selections of strong safeties on Day 2 of the NFL draft.
In 2012, their target was Tavon Wilson. In 2013, the player of choice was Duron Harmon. Now, in 2015, they picked up an unheralded safety prospect in Stanford's Jordan Richards.
Draft pundits were appalled. In their minds, the Patriots squandered a valuable second-round pick on a relative unknown. They weren't the only ones who were taken by surprise. ESPN.