The New England Patriots have been the subject of many NFL Combine meeting stories over the years. And 2020 has been no different.
Notably, the team told one tight end prospect that he had a "loser's mentality" at one point in their interview. They also asked one of the quarterback prospects how he would feel to replace Tom Brady. And an LSU tight end said that he was "kinda scared" in his meeting with the team.
Some haven't minded the meetings. And one Clemson Tiger actually "felt comfortable" talking to the Patriots.
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Still, the same can't be said of former Alabama safety Xavier McKinney.
McKinney had a formal meeting with the Patriots at the combine and he called his interview with New England "tough" and "awkward".
"That was one of the harder meetings that I had. It was a little tough, a little awkward," McKinney said, per Nora Princiotti of The Boston Globe. "But Vinnie Sunseri was in there so it just made me a little more comfortable just knowing that I’ve been in the room with him plenty of other times. It was a good meeting though."
New England Patriots
Sunseri joined the Patriots coaching staff this offseason but the former Alabama safety had previously served as a graduate assistant with Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban before. So, he had a connection with McKinney, which eased his nerves a bit.
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But McKinney said he just felt "uncertain" about the meeting coming out of it.
"Just towards the end, I wasn’t sure if they enjoyed the meeting or if I did well," McKinney said. "You kind of walk out of these meetings kind of uncertain sometimes. But I think that’s just how it goes. You just try to do the best you can."
McKinney has a good point and players often are unsure about what teams think of them. That's by design. Some teams really don't like to tip their hand in the lead-up to the draft, and the Patriots are certainly among those that keep their intentions close to the vest.
So, it's well within the realm of possibility that the team liked McKinney. They just may not want him to realize that right away.
McKinney had 95 tackles, three sacks, and three interceptions in his final season at Alabama. He's expected to be one of the first safeties off the board and our own Phil Perry mocked him to the Patriots in his first NFL mock draft of the offseason in January.