Retired Kevin Faulk makes Patriots' pick wearing Tom Brady jersey

During his playing days, retired New England Patriots running back Kevin Faulk was renowned for his pass protection, his ability to keep defensive players away from quarterback Tom Brady.

Faulk's days of protecting Brady on the field are done, but clearly he is still protecting his friend and former teammate off the field.

On Friday night, Faulk was at the draft to announce the Patriots' third-round draft pick (all of the picks in the round were announced by franchise Walter Payton Man of the Year nominees, and Faulk was New England's in 2009), and as NFL vice president of football operations Troy Vincent introduced him, Faulk stood to Vincent's left, hands on hips, his chest puffed out.

The stance was to highlight that under his unbuttoned purple blazer Faulk was wearing a navy blue No. 12 jersey, Tom Brady's jersey, over his button-down shirt and tie. As we all well know by now, Brady has been locked in a battle with the NFL over deflate-gate, and earlier this week a federal appeals court decided to re-instate Brady's four-game suspension.

As if his choice of clothing weren't enough, Faulk took things a step further as he read the card with New England's pick printed on it.

"With the 78th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots AND Tom Brady select Joe Thuney, North Carolina State," he said.

Faulk, a second-round draft pick out of Louisiana State in 1999, the year before Bill Belichick arrived, retired after the 2011 season. He is one of three finalists for the Patriots' Hall of Fame this year.