FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots paid a lot of money to sign linebacker Harvey Langi as an undrafted free agent. Perhaps they paid up for what he’d say off the field as much as what he’ll do on it.
Langi toed the company line and wasn’t interested in talking about the draft process because it’s “in the past” Tuesday when he met with the media for the first time as a Patriot. Even when the question about him going undrafted was posed in a positive manner, that it actually worked out better for Langi to go undrafted than to be selected in the seventh round, he still wasn’t touching it.
“Short-term memory for me with all that,” Langi said Tuesday at Gillette Stadium. “It’s all dead and gone. I’m just here ready to go.”
Going undrafted could be looked at as a net positive because Langi was able to pick his team, and he received a three-year, $1.68 million contract from the Patriots with $115,000 guaranteed. Cornerback Marquez White, a Dallas Cowboys sixth-round compensatory draft selection, received just $110,014 guaranteed.
Langi’s contract makes it clear he had other offers on the table after the 2017 NFL Draft concluded. So, why did he pick the Patriots?
“The organization here, the team here, the unity, how they play, the way that they do everything,” Langi said. “We all look up to the guys in the NFL. For me in college, for sure watched the Patriots the most because they played the most games. It’s a privilege and it’s an honor to be here. I thought that it would be a good fit for me personally.”
Langi played linebacker, defensive end and running back during his career at BYU. It appears, based on his listed position on the roster, that Langi will play linebacker with the Patriots. But he trusts the team to play him where they see he fits best.
“At BYU, they saw me in different positions and tried me in different positions and thought I could best help the team in those positions,” Langi said. “I just put my head down and worked and hopefully produced for them and do what I can do best. Here, my mentality is the same way. Just come in, work and if they see me run a little bit better this way or jump a little bit better that way … I know they’ll put me in the right position for me to be successful.”
Langi can lean on another former BYU player who also has moved around the field. Kyle Van Noy was a pass rusher in college who converted to linebacker in the NFL. Van Noy was traded to the Patriots midway through last season and helped New England win Super Bowl LI with a half sack.
“He’s great. He’s a great mentor,” Langi said about Van Noy. “He’s a great football player, very versatile. Great guy on and off the field. He’s a husband, I have a wife. So, he’s just a good mentor for me to look up to and to follow. I really appreciate his game and appreciate how he is as a man. It’s cool being around Kyle.”
Van Noy’s last season with the Cougars was in 2013, and Langi transferred to BYU from Utah in 2014, so they never played together in college. Langi said he had a relationship with Van Noy prior to coming to the Patriots, however.
Thumbnail photo via Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports Images
