The New England Patriots mined from a small school for the third time in four years when they selected Sacramento State linebacker/safety Marte Mapu with the 76th overall pick.

Mapu, who’s 6-foot-3, 221 pounds, played a versatile role last season as a linebacker/safety/slot cornerback hybrid. The Patriots, who hosted Mapu on a visit this spring, announced him as a linebacker.

One source said Mapu is a “good cover linebacker who's tough and has good instincts. More smooth than explosive. Will be a good matchup piece” for the Patriots.

NFL Media’s Daniel Jeremiah raved about the pick on the NFL Network Broadcast and Mapu’s ability to blitz, cover and defend the run. Mapu was the Big Sky defensive player of the year last season when he registered 76 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble and two interceptions.

PFF charted Mapu with 10 total pressures as a blitzer. He made 29 defensive stops and allowed 44 catches on 65 targets for 449 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He played 510 snaps in the slot, 249 in the box, 56 at free safety, 49 on the line of scrimmage and three cornerback, per PFF.

If Mapu plays linebacker for the Patriots, he’d be the modern, speedy, cover linebacker they haven’t rostered in years. If he plays safety, he'd be in the mix with other players with similar size in Jabrill Peppers, Kyle Dugger and Adrian Phillips.

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had Mapu graded as a third- or fourth-round pick in his draft guide. Mapu, 23, wasn’t invited to the NFL Scouting Combine and didn’t work out prior to the 2023 NFL Draft due to injury.

Mapu joins Ja'Whaun Bentley, Chris Board, Olakunle Fatukasi, Terez Hall, Raekwon McMillan, Calvin Munson, Jahlani Tavai and Mack Wilson in the Patriots' linebacker room. He has a chance to make an immediate impact with only Bentley guaranteed for a starting role in that group.

Featured image via Jon Austria/The Coloradoan / USA TODAY NETWORK