FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The New England Patriots traded up twice in the first round of the NFL draft to add a couple of players to the defense that allowed the New York Giants to march down the field for the winning score in the Super Bowl.

The Patriots sent the No. 27 overall pick, which they’d obtained in a deal with New Orleans, and a third-rounder to Cincinnati for the 21st pick and used it to take Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones. Then they traded the No. 31 pick to Denver with a fourth-rounder for the No. 25 pick they used to take Alabama linebacker Dont’a Hightower.

“As usual, the draft always takes some interesting twists and turns,” coach Bill Belichick said Thursday night after the NFL wrapped up the first round of the draft. “You just never know how it’s going to go.”

The trades left New England with two second-round picks — 48th and 62nd overall — and nothing in the five rounds after that.

“As the players came off the board, we were able to execute a couple trades there and still hang onto our two second round picks,” Belichick said. “I thought if we moved up I wasn’t sure that we would be able to do that, but it worked out that way.”

Hightower, who is 6-foot-4 and 260 pounds, played for Belichick buddy Nick Saban on Alabama teams that won the NCAA championship twice in the past three years. He was a leader of the unit that led the nation in rushing defense, allowing 72 yards per game, and total defense (183 yards per game).

Hightower, 22, was a finalist for the Bednarik, Butkus and Lombardi awards and a first-team All-America selection.

Both he and Jones are considered versatile players who can fit into a variety of defensive systems.

The Patriots scouted both of them at the NFL combine. When they were in Indianapolis, Jones and Hightower met and fantasized about winding up on the same team.