Nebraska's Alfonzo Dennard Drafted by New England Patriots

Nebraska cornerback Alfonzo Dennard was once considered a first-round NFL draft pick.

Then the 2011 season happened, a season in which Dennard missed the first few games due to a leg injury. Then the NFL combine happened and Dennard ran a bit slower than the NFL guys want to see a starting cornerback run.

Then Dennard got arrested for doing one of the dumbest things you can do - assaulting a police officer - and got hisself charged with a felony.

It can be of little surprise that he dropped all the way to the 17th pick of the seventh round where the New England Patriots drafted him. There's little surprise that it was the Patriots who drafted him, recognizing that there's little risk in the pick but a huge amount of potential. Getting a first or second round player in the seventh round?

Patriots fans love this pickjust as much as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers love Lavonte David and the Houston Texans love Jared Crick.

Dennard will enter the NFL with more to prove than ever while the New England Patriots get a guy who will enter the league ready to play. Bill Belichick may be considered a god by some, but it's a pretty low bar he has to clear when the other people competing with him are complete idiots.