Patriots Daily Q&A With USC DE Everson Griffen

[PatriotsDaily.com]

In most ratings of the top 32 players entering the draft, more than half are underclassmen who have declared early. While every one of those has high potential, much of that gets offset by questions of maturity.

Everson Griffen epitomizes this class. Following a run-in with police on Nantucket Island last summer, the USC defensive end had some doubters. The 6-foot-3, 268-pounder answered them with a productive season (45 tackles, eight sacks) and impressive test numbers (4.60-seconds in the 40, 32 reps in the bench press).

In his exclusive PD interview, Griffen kept the answers coming about his comfort level on the field and his personal growth off of it.

Q&A With USC DE Everson Griffen

 

[upstater1]

McShay has him going late second round.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

While I understand the concerns surrounding Griffen, if he's truly available late in the second I would be extremely disappointed if we passed him up. I think his skill set fits exactly what we want to do with our left outside linebacker, and with some solid role models, he'll be fine. He sounds like a good kid who's just starting to grow up--who really wants to grow up--and needs a strong coaching staff/locker room to help him unlock his potential. He could be really special in a year or two.