Two years before the Patriots drafted him in the fifth round Saturday afternoon, Bradyn Swinson changed teams in college.

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A talented edge rusher, Swinson transferred from Oregon to LSU and fit right in with a Tigers defense that has a history of producing NFL-level talent. But it wasn’t a pass rusher Swinson took after at LSU.

It was a quarterback.

Ex-LSU quarterback and current Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels impressed upon Swinson the importance of carrying your dream with you wherever you go. For Daniels, that meant literally carrying a football, a dream he realized last year by becoming the No. 2 overall pick.

Since then, Swinson has done the same, toting a football wherever he goes off the field. That is until Saturday, when the Patriots picked him 146th overall.

“I go to the grocery store, I go to the mall, I go anywhere and just have the ball with me. I keep the ball close,” Swinson told reporters via video conference. “The ball is the program.”

Last season, Swinson led LSU with 8.5 sacks, 59 pressures and 13 tackles for loss. He landed on the All-SEC second team and projects as a rotational pass rusher in New England, should he make the team. Swinson’s best move is speed-to-power, and his 6-foot-4, 255-pound frame suggests he could add more muscle to boost his bull rush.

But before he can begin chasing sacks in Foxboro, he will need a new football to carry around. His current one won’t do any more.

“I can’t walk around with it no more. That’s a Washington Commanders ball,” he said. “I need a Patriots ball.”

By the sounds of his comments Saturday, Swinson intends to keep the tradition alive; no matter how many side eyes he gets in public.

“I always get some type of reaction,” he said. “They always look at me like I’m crazy – like, ‘Ok, you must be obsessed or something.’ They’ll be like, ‘Is that your child?’ I always have it. I bring it to the pool. I bring it anywhere.”