Aaron Dobson has quite a bit to live up to in New England.
The former Thundering Herd receiver and South Charleston High standout was selected in the second round of the NFL draft as the 59th overall pick by the New England Patriots Friday night.
The standard for former Marshall receivers with the Patriots has been set pretty high. Herd Hall of Famer Troy Brown was drafted by the Patriots in 1993 and played his entire 15-year career in New England, earning three Super Bowl rings along the way. When he retired, Brown was the franchise leader in career receptions.
Randy Moss joined the Patriots in 2007 and he and quarterback Tom Brady rewrote the passing record books. Moss caught 98 passes for 1,493 yards with 23 touchdown grabs during the Patriots perfect 16-0 regular season. Moss had 69 receptions in 2008 and 83 in 2009.
Dobson made an impression on scouts during his practices at the Senior Bowl and especially caught the eye of cold weather teams during his Pro Day at Marshall in March. Conditions were windy with temperatures in the 20’s and Dobson still made all the catches and displayed his breakaway speed.
“I remember being at the West Virginia pro day and Marshall’s was the day before and a lot of scouts were coming to West Virginia from Marshall and they were buzzing about how well this kid caught the ball on a 20-degree, windy day at Marshall,” recalled Mayock.
Dobson is the third Marshall player to be selected by the Patriots. In addition to Troy Brown, New England also selected tight end Lee Smith in 2011.