FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Patriots announced that they have signed 2022 first-round draft pick OL Cole Strange, 2022 second-round draft pick WR Tyquan Thornton and 2022 fourth-round draft pick QB Bailey Zappe. Terms of the contracts were not announced.
Strange, 23, was selected by the Patriots in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft with the 29th overall pick out of Chattanooga. The 6-foot-5, 305-pounder was a five-year starter on the offensive line who had an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19. He started all 11 games in 2021 with nine at left guard and two at left tackle and led an offensive line that paved the way for an offense that averaged 205.5 rushing yards per game. Overall, he played in 49 games with 44 starts during his college career.
Thornton, 21, was selected by the Patriots in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft with the 50th overall pick out of Baylor. The 6-foot-2, 182-pounder started all 14 games that he played in 2021 and led the team with 62 receptions for 948 yards and 10 touchdowns. He finished his college career 10th all-time in Baylor history with 2,242 receiving yards.
Zappe, 23, was selected by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft with the 137th overall pick out of Western Kentucky. The 6-foot-1, 220-pounder was named the MVP of Conference USA in 2021 after completing 475-of-686 passes for 5,987 yards with 62 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Zappe began his career at Houston Baptist in 2017 before transferring to Western Kentucky for the 2021 season.
