NFL Draft 2015: Bill Belichick Talks About Selecting Malcom Brown

Feb 20, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Texas defensive lineman Malcom Brown speaks to the media at the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Shortly after the New England Patriots selected Malcom Brown with the 32nd overall pick last night, head coach Bill Belichick met with the media to discuss the pick.

(Here is the official transcript)

BB: All right. Late one for us. I think this has been a good process here. A lot of work from [director of player personnel] Nick Caserio and [director of college scouting] Monti Ossenfort; our scouting staff. They really worked hard over the last really year, but even…I feel like we were well prepared for the whole process, even though we got a late start on it in February. Those guys did a great job, and the coaches as well. [We] just sat there and watched a lot of names come off the board, but [we] feel good about our selection of Malcom [Brown] at 32. We’ll see how it goes. He’s a guy that’s played inside, on the nose, all the way outside to the five-technique, kind of everywhere in between. He’s been moved around a little bit: played a little more outside this year, a little in Coach [Charlie] Strong’s defense; a little more inside with the previous staff. He has plenty of snaps in a variety of spots. [I] look forward to working with him and [we’ll] see how it goes here tomorrow.

Q: Based on mock drafts, Malcom Brown looked like a guy who would go a lot earlier than 32. Were you surprised that he lasted as long as he did?

BB: I think this is one of those drafts where you see guys in those mock drafts – one draft has him at 15, another guy has him at 65, the same player. I don’t know. It just seems like there’s a lot of spread on a lot of players in this draft. I don’t know. I don’t really put a lot of stock into that.

Q: How much do you like his maturity and what he’s shown with his family life?

BB: Yeah. I think that’s impressive. Staying in school, finishing up at Texas, starting a new program this year in his [junior] year and all that, I think he did a lot of things that would lend themselves to making good decisions, being loyal, committed, sticking with it, finishing the job, all that type of thing.

Q: Is part of what makes him rare his athleticism for a player his size?

BB: Yeah, I think he’s athletic for 320 [pounds] or whatever he is.

Q: How does that show up on the field?

BB: He can run, plays on his feet. He’s got good quickness.

Q: How close were you to trading that pick?

BB: We picked Brown.

Q: What do you like most about him that will translate to being a good pro?

BB: I think for anybody to make that transition, it takes a lot of things. Hopefully he’s got all the components that are necessary, or at least a lot of them. He’s got a long way to go, like every rookie does coming in. He’s got a lot of work to do, a lot to learn. It’s a lot different in this league, playing against a lot bigger people on the other side of the ball. But we think he’s got an opportunity to do that. We’ll work with him and see how it goes.

Q: You have a lot of guys in the front-seven mix who have the ability to do a lot of different things. I know you covet versatility. How can you take advantage of his versatility at 320 pounds?

BB: I don’t know. We’ll just see how it goes. I don’t know. We’ll just have to bring him in here, teach him what we do, evaluate him relative to our other players and then eventually we’ll get to game planning and so forth and try to what we think is best for the team – him and everybody else. It’s not about one guy. It’s about utilizing all the athletes we have, all the players that we have. How that all works, I don’t know. It might be different from game to game, it might not, we’ll see.

Q: Did anything in the first round of the draft surprise you?

BB: We’re kind of just more focused on what we’re doing. After about the first 20 picks, there’s not really much – you’re standing there and watching until that point. But after that, you can see how things are falling, taking a look at the guys we might want to consider and watching it unfold pick by pick, and whether we were going to move one way or another or stay or you know. It’s just normal.

Q: How much were you set on selecting a defensive lineman as opposed to someone else on defense or an offensive lineman?

BB: We try to consider all the guys we felt like would help our football team at that point for value. Malcom Brown is who we selected. There were other good players up there. There are other good players up on the board that would help us – I’m sure they’ll help a lot of other teams – but we did what we thought was best for our team.

Q: You talked about the two different coaching staffs. What kind of evolution did you see from his [second] season to his [third] season?

BB: He just played outside a little bit more this year than he did in the past. I think for a guy his size to play out there and be a little bit more in space, you just saw him in some different situations, different matchups than you did when he was between the guards, on the center or in the gap, or that kind of thing.

Q: You guys like those Malcolms, huh?

BB: It’s coincidence.

Q: Can you compare him to anyone physically?

BB: Yeah, we have a lot of 320-pound guys around here, so we’ll see. Every guy is their own player, so we’ll see. [We’ll] work with him and see how it goes.

Q: You lost Vince Wilfork this offseason. Is it unfair to say he’s a replacement for Vince or are there similarities or differences?

BB: Yeah, I’m sure there’s both. We’ll see.

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