FOXBORO, Mass. — Malcom Brown came out of the New England Patriots’ bye week a different player.
That’s not to say the rookie defensive tackle struggled in his first three NFL games. He just wasn’t quite as impactful. But since coming out of the Week 4 bye, Brown has earned a starting role on the Patriots’ defense and major praise from head coach Bill Belichick.
“I think the last maybe, I don’t know, six weeks or so have been really kind of a significant incline for him,”Belichick said. “Not that it was ever bad — I’m not saying that. I think his progress was, training camp, early part of the season, different techniques, new defense, a lot of adjustments, but I’d say over the last maybe, I don’t know, six weeks, somewhere in the area, his play has improved in everything — his aggressiveness, his reactions, his communication, adjustments that he has to make after the ball is snapped, things that happen, those kind of things.”
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons Brown has made such strides is that he won’t repeat the same error twice.
“He’s really done a good job,” Belichick said. “He’s worked hard and he’s taken the experience that he’s had and he’s built on it and it’s become a positive. Some guys make mistakes and then they show up again. He’s been able to correct a lot of those things and really take his game to I’d say a much higher level here in the last, I don’t know, few weeks.”
The film shows Brown, 21, is holding up better these days in run defense, both against a single blocker and on double teams. He’s also actively making plays. He forced a key sack on the New York Giants’ last offensive play of Sunday’s 27-26 Patriots win by getting free from blockers and rushing Eli Manning, causing the quarterback to fall to the turf. The Giants kicked a field goal, allowing the Patriots to make a last-second comeback.
Brown leads the Patriots’ interior linemen in defensive snaps with 234, outpacing veterans Sealver Siliga, Alan Branch and Akiem Hicks in the team’s balanced rotation. He’s among the reasons the Patriots have thrived this season against the run, holding opposing teams to just 88.2 yards per game — second in the NFL.
Brown not only eats up space in the middle of the defense with his 320-pound frame, but he has the combination of strength and athleticism to slide his blocker down the line of scrimmage and make tackles even when the play is being run away from his side of the field. Brown has 24 tackles this season and had seven alone in Week 10.
It’s a minor miracle Brown even fell to the Patriots. There were reports New England was trading out of the No. 32 spot in the 2015 NFL Draft. It might not be a coincidence that those reports became untrue when the Indianapolis Colts elected to draft wide receiver wide receiver Philip Dorsett instead of Brown with the 29th selection in the draft. The Green Bay Packers took defensive back Damarious Randall, the New Orleans Saints grabbed linebacker Stephone Anthony, and the Patriots replaced Vince Wilfork with Brown.
Brown isn’t Wilfork yet, but the rookie is well on his way to being another playmaking big body in the middle of the Patriots’ defense.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
