The New England Patriots finished the 2021 NFL draft with four offensive players and four defensive players in what ended up being the final draft for the team's research director.After the draft ended on Saturday, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick announced that Ernie Adams, who has been Belichick's confidant since he arrived in Foxborough in 2000, worked his last draft.Adams is famously known among New England football fans for identifying the goal-line play that the Seattle Seahawks liked to run ahead of Super Bowl XLIX in 2015. The Pats practiced stopping the play on defense, and cornerback Malcolm Butler ended up jumping the play when the Seahawks ran it in the game to make a game-sealing interception."Certainly, he's been a huge part of the draft process with the New England Patriots, going all the way to Coach (Chuck) Fairbanks to the Giants to Cleveland, back to New England," Belichick said. "The acquisition of a lot of great players, all the process that goes into drafting, grading players, scouting players, setting up a grading scale, trading really every single thing that is involved in that. Ernie's had that seat and that role and been a part of all those things in the draft room."The Patriots started Adams' final draft by selecting Alabama quarterback Mac Jones with the 15th overall pick in the first round Thursday night. Jones is the first QB taken by New England in the first round and the highest selected offensive player during Belichick's 21-year tenure as head coach.New England landed the 15th overall pick after finishing the 2020 season with a 7-9 record, their first losing record since 2000. The Pats also missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008, while their streaks of 17 straight 10-win seasons and 11 consecutive division titles were also snapped.The No. 15 overall pick was the highest the Patriots held in more than a decade. In 2008, the team drafted linebacker Jerod Mayo at No. 10 overall. Mayo went on to become the 2008 Defensive Rookie of the Year and later made two Pro Bowls, was part of a Super Bowl-winning team and was named to New England's 2010s All-Decade Team.On the second night of the draft on Friday, the Patriots traded with the Cincinnati Bengals to move up to the 38th overall pick in the second round to draft Christian Barmore, a defensive tackle from the University of Alabama.To land No. 38, New England had to send this year's second-round pick (No. 46) and two of its three 2021 fourth-round selections (No. 122, No. 139) to Cincinnati.Barmore is 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs 310 pounds. The 21-year-old was the highest-graded defensive tackle prospect in the 2021 draft, according to ESPN.The Philadelphia native racked up 63 total tackles, including 15.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks, and three forced fumbles in 24 games across two seasons at Alabama.In 2020, Barmore was named a First Team All-SEC honoree and a Third Team All-American by The Associated Press as a redshirt sophomore. He made five tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack in a 52-24 victory over Ohio State in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship Game, earning the Defensive MVP award in that title game."It was a dream come true, like a blessing from God," Barmore said of being drafted by the Patriots. "For coach Belichick and (owner) Robert Kraft – it really is a blessing. Literally, my favorite team growing up and it’s a real blessing."Then with the 96th overall pick in the third round, the Pats drafted defensive end Ronnie Perkins out of the University of Oklahoma. The team was awarded that selection for losing quarterback Tom Brady in free agency to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2020 offseason.Perkins, who is 6-foot-3 and 253 pounds, was an All-Big 12 Second Team selection by the league's head coaches in each of the last two seasons. The 21-year-old finished with 99 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks and one forced fumble in 33 career games, including 25 starts.The St. Louis native was also part of three Big 12 title-winning teams, as well as two that made the College Football Playoff in his three years at Oklahoma.Perkins missed the first five games of his junior season due to an NCAA suspension for a failed drug test, but was able to record 24 tackles and 5 1/2 sacks in the Sooners' final six games of 2020."Honestly, it’s surreal. My mind can’t even wrap around it," Perkins said after he was drafted. "Just to get the opportunity to get coached by coach Belichick is the most mind-blowing thing in my head right now. So honestly I’m so excited tonight. I just can’t even wait to go in and learn from coach Belichick, the younger coach (Steve) Belichick, like I’m just excited for this whole opportunity. I just can’t wait."With their first of five picks on Saturday, Day 3 of the draft, the Patriots selected Rhamondre Stevenson from the University of Oklahoma with the 120th overall pick in the fourth round Saturday afternoon.Stevenson, who is 6 feet tall and weighs 231 pounds, played two seasons with Oklahoma after entering the program as a junior college transfer. He ran for 1,180 yards and 13 touchdowns while averaging 7.2 yards per carry in 19 games and helped the Sooners win Big 12 championships in both of those seasons.The 23-year-old Las Vegas native missed the first five games of the 2020 season due to an NCAA suspension for a failed drug test, but played in each of OU's final six games and ran for 665 yards and seven touchdowns.Stevenson started the final five games of last season, including the Sooners' 55-20 win over No. 10 Florida in the 2021 Cotton Bowl. He was named the Outstanding Offensive Player of the bowl game after rushing for a career-high 186 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries."It was totally a surprise to me, actually," Stevenson said of being drafted by the Patriots. "It’s a great feeling just knowing that I’ve got Bill Belichick as the head coach. I know he’s a great coach, he’s a genius and he loves what he does. I just know he’s going to coach me hard, as well as the other people on the coaching staff, so I’m just excited." In the fifth round, the Patriots picked University of Michigan linebacker Cameron McGrone with the 177th overall pick, which was a compensatory selection.McGrone appeared in 19 games over three seasons with the Wolverines. He earned All-Big Ten honorable mention recognition as a sophomore in 2019 by making 66 tackles, 9.5 for loss, four sacks and one forced fumble in 13 games on defense and special teams.As a junior in 2020, the 20-year-old Indianapolis native started all five games he appeared in and was credited with 26 tackles, including two for loss and half a sack. He missed Michigan's final game of the season due to a torn ACL, and the team's last three scheduled games were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.McGrone is the fourth Wolverines player to be selected by New England since 2019. The Pats drafted linebacker Josh Uche and offensive lineman Michael Onwenu last year after picking defensive end Chase Winovich two years ago."Getting the chance to be around some of my former teammates, that’s going to mean a lot to me too," McGrone said. "Just to see some familiar faces is a blessing. Josh hit me up just to tell me congratulations and same with Chase. Just overall a blessing."The Pats then selected safety Joshuah Bledsoe out of the University of Missouri with the 188th overall pick in the sixth round.Bledsoe recorded 41 total tackles, including 2.5 for loss, to go with six pass breakups and his lone career interception as a senior in 2020. In 46 collegiate games, he racked up 131 total tackles with eight tackles for loss and one sack. The Houston native also broke up 19 passes in his college career, forced two fumbles and recovered three fumbles.For the curious New England football fan, Bledsoe did acknowledge that he knew of Patriots Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Bledsoe when asked about it on Saturday."I don't know too much. I just know he played quarterback," Joshuah Bledsoe said.At No. 197 overall in the sixth round, New England drafted offensive tackle William Sherman out of the University of Colorado.Sherman played in 30 career games for the Buffaloes with 27 starts. He stands 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs 304 pounds."It’s crazy because one of the guys who I’ve watched is Isaiah Wynn, just because he’s about the same size as I am, still playing left tackle too," Sherman said. "So just trying to watch him play left tackle, mirror his feet, his technique, his hands and all that stuff. So it’s crazy to actually get drafted by the Patriots now just because he was definitely a guy who I used to watch in college a lot."With the 242nd pick in the seventh and final round, the Patriots selected wide receiver Tre Nixon from the University of Central Florida.Nixon is 6 feet tall and weighs 187 pounds and played three seasons at UCF after transferring there from Ole Miss.The Florida native appeared in and started four games during the 2020 season as he dealt with a shoulder injury. He caught 19 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns as a redshirt senior.In his first two seasons with the Knights, Nixon started all 13 games in both seasons. In 30 career games, he caught 108 passes for 1,652 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. "I had a couple of talks with the Patriots of course and, you know, I had a good feeling about them," Nixon said. "But at that point in the draft, I really had no clue. So, ultimately, it caught me by surprise and was a huge blessing."New England had to forfeit its regular third-round pick this year as part of punishment for a December 2019 incident involving a television crew working for the team at a game between the Browns and Bengals in Cincinnati. Below is a list of the New England Patriots' 2021 draft picks:No. 15 overall (1st round) — Mac Jones, QB, AlabamaNo. 38 overall (6th pick in 2nd round, acquired from Bengals) — Christian Barmore, DT, AlabamaNo. 96 overall (33rd pick in 3rd round, compensatory selection) — Ronnie Perkins, DE, OklahomaNo. 120 overall (15th pick in 4th round) - Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, OklahomaNo. 177 overall (33rd pick in 5th round, compensatory selection) - Cameron McGrone, LB, MichiganNo. 188 overall (4th pick in 6th round, acquired from Texans) - Joshuah Bledsoe, S, MissouriNo. 197 overall (13th pick in 6th round) - William Sherman, OT, ColoradoNo. 242 overall (15th pick in 7th round) - Tre Nixon, WR, UCF