Though he was raised in Waynesville, Missouri, Sam Roberts grew up a Patriots fan.
Roberts was a big Tom Brady supporter, and the 6-foot-4, 293-pound defensive lineman “loved Vince Wilfork.” He’s got the old Twitter posts clad in a Patriots jersey to prove it, too.
So when Bill Belichick called to draft Roberts in the sixth-round, the NW Missouri State product was at a loss.
“When I heard his voice on the phone I had to catch my breath for a second,” Roberts said. “I can’t even put into words to describe the feeling I got out of that. I’m just so excited to be in this position. I just want to thank the organization for seeing something in me and picking me.
“That was my team, so it’s crazy that this all came full circle,” Roberts said. “I love New England already. I feel it and I just love it.”
Though he went to a Division II school, Roberts still landed on Belchick’s radar. He won the 2021 Cliff Harris Award as the nation’s best non-Division I defender, and believes that even without the hardware, scouts would have tracked him down.
“I’m a true believer (that) if you can play football, they’ll find you,” Roberts said. “That’s what people have been preaching and I think there’s a lot of truth to that.”
Ultimately, it was the Patriots that found him, and Roberts couldn’t be happier about that.
“It just seems like a little fairytale ending almost,” Roberts said. “You grow up watching a team and then they end up picking you in the Draft. It’s just like, wow. I’m still at a loss for words and it’s been like two hours now.”
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