HOUSTON — As Malcolm Butler continued preparations for his second Super Bowl appearance, his coach explained how he stumbled upon the small-college cornerback-turned-New England Patriots hero in the first place.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked during a news conference Tuesday how Butler first landed on his radar during the lead-up to the 2014 NFL Draft.
“We were just digging through some guys at the end of the draft,” Belichick said. “When the draft was over, there were a number of players that weren’t signed that we still had interest in. We invited Malcolm up for rookie minicamp, and we had probably 10 to 15 players like that who had finished their college career (but) were not signed with a team that were essentially there for an extended tryout over that minicamp period, along with our draft choices and the players that we had signed after the draft.”
According to Belichick, Butler made a fantastic first impression.
“I’d say once we saw Malcolm on the field after the first workout, it was pretty obviously that we felt like this was the type of kid that you want to work with,” the coach said. “I mean, he was obviously raw technique-wise and all that, but the type of kid you want to work with. He had a good training camp and got a little bit of playing time during the year, but really, we saw (his talent) firsthand when saw him in our building in that rookie minicamp.”
Butler played sparingly as a rookie — 184 defensive snaps during the 2014 regular season — before bursting onto the scene with his game-sealing interception in Super Bowl XLIX. He’s since emerged as one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks and will play a major role in New England’s attempt to slow down Matt Ryan and the high-flying Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI on Sunday.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
