FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots rookies reported for training camp Thursday, and with this as a springboard, here is one fun fact on each draft choice.
Malcom Brown (first round, 32nd overall): Defensive tackle who grew up in Brenham, Texas, is married (his wife's name is Faith) and the couple has two children, Rayna and Mayah.
Jordan Richards (second round, 64th overall): Safety majored in public policy at Stanford and his father, Terrence, is a native of Natick, Massachusetts, who played football at Tufts University. Jordan was born in Sacramento, California.
Geneo Grissom (third round, 97th overall): A native of Hutchinson, Kansas, the defensive end/outside linebacker calls his father, Euegene, the strongest man he knows after having watched him battle cancer while going through the recruiting process.
Trey Flowers (fourth round, 101st overall): Growing up in Huntsville, Alabama with 10 brothers and sisters, he totaled 47.5 tackles for a loss over his college career, which was the most of any player in the SEC over that span (and second most nationally).
Tre' Jackson (fourth round, 111st overall): He is from Jesup, Georgia, and had plenty of options in the recruiting process, selecting Florida State over Georgia, Alabama, Miami and NC State; and also had offers from Florida, Rutgers, Middle Tennessee, Georgia Southern and Southern.
Shaq Mason (fourth round, 131st overall): His full name is Shaquille Olajuwon Mason, as his mother was a big NBA fan at the time he was born in 1993. He is from Columbia, Tennessee.
Joe Cardona (fifth round, 166th overall): From El Cajon, California, the long snapper was a football and lacrosse player in high school and was named league MVP in lacrosse his senior year.
Matt Wells (sixth round, 178th overall): A linebacker known for his speed, the Monticello, Mississippi, native is legally blind in his right eye.
AJ Derby (sixth round, 202nd overall): A college quarterback until his senior year, he then switched to tight end. His father played at Iowa from 1988-91 and went to training camp with Bill Belichick's Cleveland Browns in 1993.
Darryl Roberts (seventh round, 247th overall): The Lakeland, Florida, native received his undergraduate degree in sports management from Marshall, where he was nicknamed "Swagg."
Xzavier Dickson (seventh round, 253rd overall): As a senior at Griffin (Georgia) High School, he totaled 19 sacks and 25 tackles for a loss, which contributed to him being a highly touted recruit.