FOXBORO -- Everyone pegged linebacker as a Patriots need in this year's draft. With visions of Super Bowl LII still fresh, when the Patriots allowed more than six yards per carry, the thinking was that the Patriots needed more athleticism at the second level that might help them in 2018 and beyond.
The Patriots took a linebacker in the fifth round, at pick No. 143 overall, but he doesn't necessarily project out as a sideline-to-sideline athlete. Ja'Whaun Bentley, from Purdue, is more of a classic Patriots linebacker. Big. Likes contact.
"Thumper," Bentley said on a conference call Saturday when asked to describe his game. "Deinitely a physical football player."
At 6-foot-2, 246 pounds, Bentley ran a 4.75-second 40 at his pro day. He also broad jumped 111 inches and hit 29.5 inches in the vertical. I spoke to one assistant at a linebacker-needy club that did not have Bentley on their board because of his lack of athleticism.
Some of the reasons the Patriots might have been interested in Bentley? He may have some on-the-line/off-the-line versatility. He was the first three-time captain in Purdue football history. Arguably his best game -- 12 tackles against Wisconsin -- came against big-time competition. As a senior, he was named an all-conference honorable mention honoree by Big 10 coaches after racking up 89 tackles, including 9.5 for a loss, three pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and he a 76-yard interception return for a touchdown against Minnesota.
Bentley is a favorite at Pro Football Focus because of his work in the running game. He was PFF's top-graded linebacker in the draft class with 53 "stops" (indicating an offensive failure), 79 solo tackles and 35 assists.
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PFF has noted, however, that Bentley was not among the top second-level performers at the Senior Bowl, where PFF tracks and grades player performances both in the game and practices. It could be argued, though, that he was playing out of position. Coaches in Mobile put Bentley on the line of scrimmage for his week there, Bentley explained, and he didn't mind.
"At Purdue I was playing a lot of off-the-line linebacker and a little bit on," Bentley said. "At the Senior Bowl, I was almost exclusively on the line which was a little different for me . . . I feel like I did well."
The Patriots traded pick No. 95 overall earlier in the week to the Niners in return for tackle Trent Brown and pick No. 143.