Malcom Brown Vows to be ‘Best Player’ Patriots Ever Drafted
The New England Patriots drafted All-American defensive tackle Malcom Brown out of the University of Texas with the 32nd overall pick in the NFL draft Thursday night. Upon being selected by the defending champs, Brown warned fans to be ready for him.
“You guys drafted me, so you’re about to get the best player you’ve ever drafted, so just be ready for when I touch the field,” Brown told the media when asked if he had a message for Patriots fans.
The 21-year-old was a consensus pick for All-American honors as a junior this past season. He tallied 69 tackles and 6.5 sacks from his interior defensive line position. If Brown can translate such success over into the NFL and continue to make improvements, he’ll certainly live up to such an encouraging statement.
Most importantly though, and especially impressive for a draftee of such a young age, Brown understands what it will take to adjust to football at the NFL level. He knows he needs to show up and put in max effort in order to become a great player for the Patriots moving forward.
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“Just come in and just work. Don’t come in and just think that I’ve got a place for me. Just come in and just pack my lunch every day and go at it,” Brown said.
Replacing Vince Wilfork along the defensive front will be a tall task, but perhaps the Patriots view Brown as a viable candidate to do so. Brown admitted he had not watched much of Wilfork, but based on his style of play, the two could be comparable players for Bill Belichick’s defensive unit in time.
“I’m just relentless. I want to be the best there can be and be the best that I can be, so I’m just going to do that when I get there,” Brown said when asked to describe the style in which he plays the game with.
It’s obviously far to early to tell if Brown will step in and start right out of the gate, especially with veterans Chris Jones and Sealver Siliga in the mix. Brown can be moved across the line due to his unique versatility, but he excels in clogging the gaps in a fashion much like Wilfork.
Belichick is certainly not going to hand a rookie immediate playing time and that’s just fine by Brown. Brown has no intentions of sitting around and is highly motivated to step in and immediately help improve the Patriots’ defensive unit.
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“Whatever I’m asked to do, I’m going to do that and, like I said, just try to give it my all. That’s all I can do right now, just come in with the right mind-set, chip into the program and try to get somewhere, try to help out the program, not just sit on the sidelines.”
Several mock drafts had Brown being taken several picks ahead of where the Patriots were slotted to select. Brown was even projected by some to be a middle first-round pick. Whatever the case may have been, the Patriots are fortunate Brown fell to them because the young man is extremely talented, will fill a major need and is thrilled to be joining a perennial winner.
“It means a lot. You go to a winning team, contributing to something that’s already great and trying to add whatever I can to the program. It’s a great feeling,” Brown said of being drafted by the Patriots.