Patriots select A.J. Derby

The New England Patriots selected Iowa City High graduate and Arkansas tight end A.J. Derby in the sixth round of Saturday's NFL draft.

Derby (6-foot-4, 255 pounds) played only one season at tight end but finished fourth in catches (22) for 303 receiving yards. He caught three touchdowns and averaged 13.8 yards per catch. He registered the Razorbacks' longest pass play from scrimmage, hauling in a 54-yard strike against Alabama. He also caught a 44-yard pass against Texas A&M.

'He can make things happen down the field, pretty good hands,” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said about Derby. 'What I like about A.J. Derby is he's not afraid to make a tough grab in traffic. In the red zone he was pretty good as well. You think about a guy, three touchdowns this year, 22 catches overall, had a catch of 18 yards or more in five of their first eight games. He's transitioning so he has a lot to learn. He gives effort when you talk about blocking.

'He's going to come a long way in a short period of time. He did it at Arkansas. Once he settles in, give hin a little bit of an opportunity over the next couple of years to develop and learn. A.J. Derby showed promise this season at tight after moving from quarterback.”

Derby spent two seasons at Iowa, playing quarterback for the first season and then switching to linebacker the second. He left Iowa and enrolled at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College to play quarterback. Derby completed 149 of 321 passes for 1,936 yards and 22 touchdowns and elected to walk on at Arkansas.

As a junior, Derby completed 19 of 36 passes for 178 yards and a TD. He started at Rutgers and played in seven games. He moved to tight end as a senior and earned a scholarship.

Derby was a finalist for The Gazette's athlete of the year in 2010. He led Iowa City High to the Class 4A state title in 2009. He's the son of former Iowa linebacker and team captain John Derby.

'It's been a long road,” Derby told reporters in a conference call. 'I was pretty stubborn about playing quarterback in my early time in college. That was the reason I left Iowa to go to juco, to Arkansas.”

Derby's father spent one training camp in Cleveland under New England Coach Bill Belichick. A.J. Derby said he met with New England officials at the NFL Scouting Combine, Arkansas' pro day and on a private visit.

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