2011 NFL Draft: Will Brooks Reed Be New England's Clay Matthews?

According to Jason La Canfora of NFL.com, University of Arizona's defensive end/outside linebacker, Broorks Reed, has visited with the New England Patriots multiple times. 

Reed, who's projected to be an outside linebacker in New England's 3-4 defense, has been compared to Green Bay Packers' Clay Matthews—not just because of his long luscious blond hair.

Reed is one Hell of a football player. 

The Patriots have shown some interest in Reed. Will he be New England's version of Clay Matthews? 

Strengths

The one thing that you notice when you're watching Reed is that he loves football. He's a high-motor player, with large amounts of intensity. 

Reed is also a very athletic player. If he adds some more strength and power, he could be an elite pass rusher at the next level. 

He plays with nice, reasonable leverage, and uses his hands to his advantage. When rushing the quarterback, Reed uses his block as a weapon by driving the blocker back into the passer. 

Reed hardly messes up, and he always completes his assignment.

Weaknesses

According to multiple scouts, they believe that Reed has a hard time shedding blocks. He needs to improve that to become an NFL pass rusher. 

Sometimes, Reed is slow off of the ball, which results in being blocked much longer. He can be taken out of the play quite often.

Conclusion

Brooks Reed appears to be the ideal fit in Bill Belichick's "Patriot-mold."

Don't be surprised if Reed is New England's lone first-round pick, as they would trade back. 

I can see the comparisons made to Matthews, but I can also see a little bit of Mike Vrabel in Reed. 

Reed has all the athletic intangibles. He just needs to improve his technique in order to excel at the next level.

NOTE: This article was first seen at PatriotsPlus.net. Be sure to follow Tony Santorsa on Twitter @TonySantorsa.