Cassell

FOXBORO — Technically, Matt Cassel has one year left on his rookie contract, but his days with the New England Patriots could be numbered.

With their second pick in the third round yesterday (94th overall), the Patriots selected San Diego State quarterback Kevin O’Connell; it was the highest the team has selected a signal-caller since taking Drew Bledsoe first overall in 1994.

“O’Connell is a big, strong, athletic quarterback; runs well, very athletic, played on a passing team in a passing league — in all honesty, not behind a real good (offensive) line — so he was kind of on the run a little bit,” said coach Bill Belichick. “But I thought he held in there and did a pretty good job of being productive and making good decisions.”

While Tom Brady has yet to miss a start, thus rarely pressing his backups into service, the idea that Cassel or Matt Gutierrez, an undrafted rookie last year, could be pushed into a game at a moment’s notice doesn’t offer much in the way of confidence that the Pats’ offense would continue to produce at a high level.

Cassel’s significant minutes last season came in a blowout win in Miami; he completed his first pass but was then intercepted by Jason Taylor on his second attempt, and Taylor ran the ball back for a touchdown.

Cassel was yanked, Brady was reinserted and promptly threw his sixth touchdown pass of the day.

O’Connell, 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, improved each year he was with the Aztecs, and holds the rare distinction of serving as a team captain in each of his four years. New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels flew to San Diego to work out O’Connell, and that, coupled with the other information the Pats had on him, led them to believe he’d be a good fit in Foxboro.

“Anytime we visit with a player, whether it’s us going to him or him coming to us, that’s part of it,” Belichick said. “I think the more important part most of the time is what the player does out on the field over a number of games or years of his career, and of course the feedback that we get from the coaches that he played for or sometimes players that we know who are familiar with him.”

Bucko Kilroy remembered

Belichick took a moment before he began running down the Pats’ draft picks to remember Bucko Kilroy, the longtime New England executive who died last July at the age of 86. It was the first time in 37 years that Kilroy wasn’t there to help the Patriots select the best players in the draft.

“We were definitely missing the presence of Bucko,” Belichick said, remembering the extensive value charts Kilroy would carry into the draft room. “He’s been such a pillar here for so long, particularly as it relates to the draft. It was such an exciting day for him … for all of us. Even in his later years, he never lost his enthusiasm and zest for these two days. He’s certainly in our memory today in this first draft without him.”

Kilroy was a six-time All-Pro — three times as an offensive guard and three more as a defensive middle guard — in the late 1940s and early ’50s with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was first hired by New England in 1971 as the team’s player personnel director and became general manager in 1979. He spent a decade as a team vice president before his retirement, in 1993. But even in retirement, Kilroy still spent several hours a week in his office, working as a scouting consultant with the club.

Two more trades

New England made two more trades yesterday, acquiring San Diego’s second-round pick next year, as well as a fifth-round pick this year for the third-round slot (69th overall) the Pats had acquired last year from Oakland.

They then moved up in the fifth to select UCLA’s Matthew Slater, giving the Buccaneers the 160th pick they got from the Chargers as well as their seventh-round slot (238th) for the 153rd pick.

In all, 34 trades were made over draft weekend.

Quick kicks

Neither East Providence native and Boston College star Jamie Silva nor Brown University standout Paul Raymond were drafted. Both are considered free agents and now will have to hope for an invitation to an NFL camp. Silva was listed last night on the Patriots’ Web site as one of the top free agents. … The Patriots are expected to introduce first-round pick Jerod Mayo on Thursday; the team will hold its rookie mini-camp beginning Friday. … Overall, the seven rounds of the draft — 252 picks in all — were 3 hours, 39 minutes shorter than last year’s draft. A lot of that can be attributed to the shortening of the first (from 15 minutes per pick to 10) and second (from 10 minutes to 7) rounds.

smanza@projo.com