Opening day countdowns are great. So are player profiles. Here at Musket Fire, we decided to combine them and create a Week 1 countdown-oriented, jersey number-dictated player profile series. A few days ago, we looked at No. 76 Sebastian Vollmer, and before that it was No. 77 Nate Solder. Because today marks 74 days until the New England Patriots open 2015, we are profiling No. 74, rookie defensive end Trey Flowers.
According to Oliver Thomas of 247Sports, Flowers has claimed Dominique Easley’s old jersey, No. 74.
After mulling over entry into the 2014 NFL Draft, Flowers stayed up put at Arkansas for his senior season, leading the Razorbacks in tackles for loss (15.5) and sacks (6) en route to All-SEC honors for the second year in a row. Over the course of his college career, Flowers missed only one game.
Drafted 101st overall this spring by the Patriots, Flowers has been received in New England with mixed reviews. Some think that his lack of athletic traits will hinder him in the pros, or that he doesn’t have enough length to fit as an edge defender in either a 3-4 or a 4-3 scheme.
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However, Arkansas coach Bret Bielema thinks different. Citing Flowers’ work ethic and attitude, Bielema told WEEI last month that Flowers reminds him of another former Razorback, the Texans’ J.J. Watt. Also keep in mind that Pro Football Prospectus ranked Flowers as a top-five defensive end in the 2015 class.
Over at Ourlads.com, Flowers is listed as Rob Ninkovich’s backup. To maintain that spot, Flowers will have to fend off a bunch of other roster hopefuls, including fellow rookies Geneo Grissom and Xzavier Dickson.
In case you missed them, here are the profiles for No. 80 Danny Amendola, No. 82 Josh Boyce, No. 84 Brian Tyms, No. 85 Jake Bequette, No. 86 A.J. Derby, No. 87 Rob Gronkowski, No. 88 Scott Chandler, No. 90 Zach Moore, No. 91 Jamie Collins, No. 92 Malcom Brown and No. 93 Jabaal Sheard.
There’s no player wearing the Patriots’ No. 73 jersey right now, so this series will take a break tomorrow. But be sure to check back on Musket Fire on Tuesday morning as we celebrate 72 days until Week 1 by profiling No. 72, defensive lineman Joe Vellano.