Patriots DL Malcom Brown Focused As He Gets To Work With His New Team
 Brown was introduced to the media on Wednesday. (USA TODAY Images) |
As they do every year, the Patriots introduced this year's first round selection to the media on Wednesday, with Malcom Brown on hand at Gillette Stadium as he gets ready to begin his life as a member of the Patriots.
Brown, who was selected 32nd overall during the NFL Draft, spent 10 minutes speaking to the media and seemed pretty upbeat while letting everyone know he's looking forward to begin getting to work.
"We got in here two weeks ago on Thursday. Just right away from the get-go you see the hard work and you see everything just thrown at you, so you’ve got to grasp it and go," said Brown.
The rookie also said that he's been welcomed by the guys in the locker room, who he says have taken him under their wing thus far, making the acclimation process a little easier for him.
"Everybody is taking me under their wing and everybody just wants you to work hard," said Brown. "Really you don’t have a choice but to work hard because everybody’s going to compete."
"Everybody wants you to work hard and help the team win games. As long as you’ve got that mindset, everybody’s happy with you."
So far his impressions of head coach Bill Belichick have been positive, with the rookie admitting he's been getting a little bit of "tough love", which isn't a bad thing.
"Great guy," said Brown. "He’s my new coach now and he shows everybody a lot of love – tough love – and sometimes you need that."
The expectations will certainly be high for him heading into his rookie season. He was a disruptive player in college, finishing with 70 tackles in 2014 including 13 tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks. That's exactly the type of player the Patriots need in their defensive to compliment guys like Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich. Considering the losses they've dealt with in the secondary, having players who can cut down the amount of time opposing quarterbacks have to throw is going to be critical as they try and defend their Super Bowl title.
For now Brown isn't letting himself get caught up with being in a locker room with great names or being around guys who were Super Bowl heroes. He just seems focused on becoming a champion himself and he's trying to adapt the work ethic that he seems to understand is what will help him take the next step.
"I can’t be a good teammate if I’m focused on all that stuff, this and that," said Brown. "I just go to work. I just use their work ethic to help mine and adapt to theirs because they work hard every day and go to work."
