FOXBORO, Mass. — Adam Butler’s rise from undrafted free agent to defensive starter has been one of the more surprising developments of this New England Patriots season.
Butler started over veteran defensive tackle Alan Branch in Sunday’s win over the New Orleans Saints but lined up at defensive end to begin the game, displaying the versatility that helped earn him a job in New England.
The Vanderbilt product can play anywhere along the D-line, lining up both inside and outside for the Patriots during the first two weeks of the season. That ability to move around was what put him on Bill Belichick’s radar in the first place.
“When Adam and I were at Vanderbilt and we met down there, that’s one of the things that we talked about,” the Patriots coach said Wednesday morning. “I told him that one of the reasons that we were interested in him was his versatility. And when he wasn’t drafted and we had a conversation on the phone about him signing here after the draft, we talked about that again — that his versatility would be a big attribute for him in coming in here if he could make that work, which I’d say he has to a degree.
“I think that’s one of his strengths. I saw that, and when we watched film, we went through his different roles in (Vanderbilt’s) defense, in regular and in sub. And I thought he would explain them very well to me. He had very good understanding of how he was playing when he was on the nose, on the guard, as a 5-technique in a 3-4 defense and so forth, and how it changed and what he needed to do differently and how he would kind of adapt his technique or his read based on the different positions.”
Though Butler hasn’t made much of an impact on the stat sheet (one total tackle, zero sacks so far), his playing time proves Belichick’s already considerable trust in him. The 23-year-old played 20 snaps in Week 1 (mostly in third-down passing situations) and 45 in Week 2, with only Trey Flowers and Malcom Brown playing more among Patriots D-linemen/ends.
“It was clear to me he had a very good understanding of (the different D-line positions), and he’s been able to do that here, as well,” Belichick said. “Not perfectly by any means, but good and getting better. That’s a big asset for him — to be able to do different things for us and give us plays inside and outside, in run situations and in pass situations.
“We’ve given him a lot, and he’s been able to handle it. He’s certainly not at the end. There’s a lot of work he still needs to do. But he’s been making progress in all those areas.”
Thumbnail photo via Chuck Cook/USA TODAY Sports Images
