Geneo Grissom to New England Patriots: Full Draft-Pick Breakdown
No matter what you think of New England's Day 2 NFL Draft strategy, it's clear the team has a plan. The selection of Oklahoma edge defender Geneo Grissom was the franchise's second consecutive head-scratcher, but continued the Patriots plan of beefing up their front seven.
Building a defense around the trenches is never a poor idea, and in Grissom, Malcom Brown and Jordan Richards, the Pats have now selected three consecutive players whose greatest strengths are in the box. Like Brown, Grissom is a versatile talent capable of fitting into New England's hybrid scheme, though he is considerably more raw than the first-rounder.
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The Patriots have often made their fans restless with their middle-round selections, and this year has been no different. Read on for your introduction to the Pats' third-round selection.
What Grissom Brings
As I mentioned in my tracker, the 6'3," 262-pound Grissom possesses a remarkably similar skill set and build to strong-side edge-defender Rob Ninkovich. Grissom does not have the bend or pass-rushing repertoire to pressure the passer, though that didn't stop him from compiling a respectable eight sacks over his last two seasons in Norman.
However, Grissom's greatest asset is his length (33 3/8 arms), which allow him to stack offensive linemen and hold the edge. Grissom is extremely unrefined technique-wise, having played defensive end, linebacker and tight end during his collegiate career. Nevertheless, his athleticism has some Patriots analysts comparing Grissom to two of New England's most athletic front-seven defenders:
That comparison is probably a little much, especially the Collins parallel. Yes, Jones and Collins were both raw bundles of athleticism coming out of college, but both also were considerably more productive and explosive than Grissom. Though Grissom possesses a similarly long sturdy body type, the scouting combine numbers suggest that he is also clearly the most athletically inferior of the trio:
| Grissom | 4.81 sec | 20 reps | 37" | 117" | 7.24 sec | 4.38 sec | 12.44 sec |
| Jones | 4.87 sec | 22 reps | 35" | 120" | 7.07 sec | 4.38 sec | -- |
| Collins | 4.64 sec | 19 reps | 41.5" | 139" | 7.10 sec | 4.32 sec | 11.55 sec |
But that's not really a fair comparison to start with. Grissom shouldn't come with those type of expectations, as his greatest defensive contributions will likely come against the run, at least early in his career. He does flash the occasional quick first step which could bode well for his pass-rushing promise, especially if he develops a reliable inside counter or power-to-speed move.
For now, though, I'd expect Grissom's contributions to primarily come on early downs. Ninkovich has played an untenable number of snaps the past two seasons, and although free-agent signing Jabaal Sheard will get the most snaps spelling Ninkovich and Jones, Grissom could add depth on the edge as well.
How Grissom Fits
In 2015, he's likely a special teamer who will compete with Michael Buchanan and Zach Moore for snaps. All three are developmental projects—though Buchanan's honeymoon period may be over—so the Pats likely aren't relying on any to contribute immediately.
The main goal for Grissom's rookie year will be to nail down a position, something Bob Stoops never did for him at Oklahoma. Given his size but lack of significant pass-rushing ability, the early returns from Pats beat writers indicate that Grissom's best fit could be as a stand-up linebacker, providing depth behind the starting trio of Collins, Dont'a Hightower and Jerod Mayo:
Playing linebacker would provide Grissom a more immediate role to playing time, though he would probably only play base packages in the event of an injury to one of the starting three. Ideally, Grissom would work on his pass-rushing arsenal behind the scenes and move down to defensive end. The Pats may have more depth at that position, but there's no such thing as too many pass rushers.
For now, though, Grissom is a top candidate to fulfill the role Jonathan Casillas held the second half of 2014 as the team's fourth linebacker and a core special-teamer. It's unclear what kind of role Grissom could play in the third phase, though he almost certainly needs to contribute on special teams to earn a spot on the 46-man gameday roster. Regardless, the Pats might see Grissom as the solution the linebacker depth issue with which they entered the draft.
Bottom Line
Grissom reminds me a lot of the Zach Moore selection last year, in that both are raw undeveloped edge defenders with reasonable amounts of upside. Of course, Moore was a sixth-rounder last year and faced a significant jump in competition, whereas Grissom is a largely filled-out third-rounder who didn't stand out against Big 12 opponents.
This is probably a luxury pick, though the Patriots have certainly solved the front-seven depth that plagued them in recent seasons. Some will wonder why New England passed up on more highly touted prospects like Arkansas' Trey Flowers or didn't splurge on another defensive tackle like Michael Bennett or Grady Jarrett if they were insistent on adding to the front seven.
But team draft boards often differ wildly from the mainstream media by the middle rounds, and New England has been particularly self-assured in its rankings. This is another pick that doesn't figure to help the 2015 title defense, though, which will leave Patriots fans wholly unsatisfied with the team's Friday draft haul.
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