BOSTON — The New England Patriots traded up eight spots in the second round Friday night to select former Alabama defensive tackle Christian Barmore with the 38th pick of the NFL draft.

The Patriots sent their second-round pick (46th overall) and two fourth rounders (122 and 139) to Cincinnati.

A night after standing pat with the No. 15 pick and taking another Alabama player, quarterback Mac Jones, in its search for a long-term replacement for Tom Brady, New England looked to build its defense as it attempts to retool following a disappointing season.

“It was my favorite team growing up,” said Barmore, who will also join three other former Alabama players – linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Anfernee Jennings and running back Damien Harris.

Both of the Patriots’ first two picks played for Nick Saban, a longtime friend and former colleague of Patriots Coach Bill Belichick.

It’s the sixth time since 2000 that the Patriots drafted back-to-back players from the same school.

“They’re winners. I love winners,” Barmore said when asked why the six-time Super Bowl champs were his favorite team.

Barmore, listed at 6-foot-5, 310 pounds, played two seasons for the national champion Crimson Tide before declaring for the NFL draft and forgoing his final two college seasons. He was the defensive MVP of the title game last season after being named to the SEC All-Freshman team his first year. He was also All-SEC last season.

After finishing 7-9 – the team’s first losing record since Belichick’s initial season in 2000 – and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2008, New England spent nearly $160 million in guaranteed money in the opening days of free agency, most of it on the offensive side of the ball.

The Patriots signed the top two tight ends on the market, Jonnu Smith ($31 million) and Hunter Henry ($25 million), an edge rusher in linebacker Matthew Judon ($32 million) and receiver Nelson Agholor ($15 million).

New England added another defensive lineman in the third round, taking Oklahoma pass rusher Ronnie Perkins with pick No. 96 – a compensatory pick awarded for losing Brady via free agency.

The Patriots were stripped of their own third-round pick as punishment for their television crew filming the field and sideline during a Dec. 8, 2019, game between Cincinnati and Cleveland. They were also fined $1.1 million.

The second round of the draft began with four more players from the Southeastern Conference being selected among the first six picks.

The Jaguars started Day 2 by taking Georgia cornerback Tyson Campbell, and the New York Jets followed that up by taking All-America receiver Elijah Moore from Mississippi.

Denver traded up with Atlanta to take North Carolina running back Javonte Williams, the third running back to come off the board after Najee Harris of Alabama and Travis Etienne from Clemson were selected in the first round.

Miami then made Oregon’s Jevon Holland the first safety selected in the draft, and the Eagles picked Alabama center Landon Dickerson.

Barmore was the first pure defensive lineman to come off the board in this draft class, after heading into the draft as the top prospect at the position in most projections.

Though there were reports that Barmore resisted coaching at Alabama, Crimson Tide Coach Nick Saban dismissed them entirely in an interview with Cleveland.com.

“We never had any issues here with him at all when it came to structure, whether it was football or academics,” Saban said. “He always worked hard in the offseason program and he did whatever everybody told him to do. We were very structured in regards to academics and he worked very hard at that.

“He just has really good initial quickness for a big guy, and he’s a really good inside pass-rusher and he was very productive for us as a player. He’s very instinctive as a rusher.”

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