New England Patriots: 7-Round 2018 mock draft pre-Combine

I wouldn’t call interior defensive line a huge need for the Patriots. Malcom Brown leads a strong overall unit that has a lot of natural upside. However, you can never have too many impact players up front. In the second round of this mock draft, the New England Patriots find themselves a player who can really disrupt on the inside in Florida State’s Derrick Nnadi.

Nnadi primarily played nose tackle in college showing great first step quickness and enough strength to two-gap at a high level. He is a relatively versatile player who can quickly shoot through a gap up front or hold two gaps to create plays for his teammates. A consistent and high motor player, Nnadi is extremely reliable up front. Simply put, this guy is going to do his job.

Nnadi is a bit undersized for a nose tackle. He is listed at 6-1, 312 pounds, but is probably a little lighter than he is listed. He can get overpowered by bigger offensive lineman and that is obviously a concern. It will be interesting to see an official weight for Nnadi at the combine.

He is a bit of a tweeter defensive tackle. Not quite big enough to be a nose tackle, but not athletic enough to be a full-time three technique. However, if a team is creative with Nnadi, they can use that to their advantage. His quickness can come in handy in certain one-gap situations against power, but his strength will play in two-gap situations against smaller offensive linemen.

In order for Nnadi to have consistent success at the next level, his NFL team must be willing to work him into positive situations. Nobody is better at putting their players in a position to succeed than the New England Patriots.

Nnadi is not a perfect defensive line prospect. But he has a unique skill set that allows him to penetrate the line of scrimmage and also two-gap well. This gives him a certain kind of versatility that should excite the Patriots. Add in his incredible work ethic and consistency and I think we found a specific player who Bill Belichick is going to love.