Why This Alabama Safety Said His Combine Meeting With Patriots Was 'Awkward'
The New England Patriots have been a team that has grabbed headlines this week at the NFL Scouting Combine because of their 1-on-1 meetings with some of the prospects in Indianapolis. They asked one quarterback what it would feel like to fill Tom Brady's shoes, and told a tight end he has a "loser's mentality."
Well, we can add another story to the Patriots-related tab for this crazy week at the Combine.
Alabama safety Xavier McKinney spoke about his meeting with New England this week, and said on Friday that it was "awkward".
“That was one of the harder meetings," McKinney said via Trevor Sikkema of The Draft Network when asked about his meeting with the Patriots. "It was a little tough, a little awkward. Towards the end I wasn’t sure if they enjoyed the meeting or if I did well. You walk out kind of uncertain sometimes."
McKinney, who is one of the top safeties in this year's draft, is for sure liked by the Patriots. As a team that is very old at the safety position and could potentially lose Devin McCourty during free agency, safety is on their list of needs this offseason regardless of who McCourty decides to sign with. So who better to draft than a Nick Saban-coached player, who plays his best football at1 free safety and can play in the box and slot effectively as well.
The Alabama safety has been linked via several mock drafts as a player that could be drafted by New England with the 23rd overall pick in the 2020 Draft, and deservingly so. But don't expect the Bill Belichick-led team to give off any feelings of intrigue towards players they may feel are worthy of drafting in April.
