FOXBORO, Mass. — Dominique Easley suffered a torn ACL in each of his knees during his college career at Florida, but his impressive performance on the field for the Gators helped prevent him from falling out of Round 1 in the 2014 NFL Draft.
The New England Patriots selected Easley with the 29th overall pick, and as he enters his sophomore campaign — and hopefully moves further away from his knee issues — his comfort level is improving.
“I wasn’t that comfortable just coming from college and coming off the injury and being away from football,” Easley said after Wednesday’s mandatory minicamp practice at Gillette Stadium. “I’m much more comfortable now than last year.”
Easley has had the entire offseason to study New England’s defense and build back strength in his knees, and while he’s not 100 percent, he’s moving in the right direction.
“I feel good,” Easley said. “I don’t feel I’m where I need to be right now, but I feel like I’m going to get there.”
Easley played in 11 games as a rookie and tallied 10 tackles, one sack and one interception. He still has plenty of room for improvement skill-wise, but having two healthy knees is just as important.
“Just, basically, football skills,” Easley said when asked what needs to improve. “Just getting strength all the way back in my knee and just being comfortable getting back on the field.”
There will be a lot of competition when training camp begins in July, especially after the Patriots selected four defensive linemen in the 2015 NFL Draft. Easley will be in the mix, but his health certainly will be a concern given his history.
Thumbnail photo via Brace Hemmelgarn/USA TODAY Sports Images
