Patriots Round 3 Selection – Geneo Grissom, DE/OLB Oklahoma
 The Patriots selected Geneo Grissom with the 97th pick (Compensatory) at the end of the 3rd round of the NFL Draft. Grissom projects to be an OLB/DE with the Patriots. (USA TODAY Images) |
Pats trade out of the 96th pick and take edge player
The Patriots made a deal with the Cleveland Browns to trade out of the 96th pick in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. The Pats also sent Cleveland the 219th pick in the 7th round for the Browns 111th pick in the 4th round, the 147th pick in the 5th Round and the 202nd pick in Round 7.
With the 97th pick, (Compensatory), the Patriots selected Geneo Grissom, DE/OLB from Oklahoma. Grissom is a physical specimen with a chiseled 6’3, 263 frame and is versatile, playing defensive end as well as at outside linebacker. He even logged time as a tight end for the Sooners.
He has good length and has been able to knock down eight passes the past two seasons despite being only a part-time starter. He has a quick first step off the line as an edge rusher. His numbers for the past two seasons in Norman; 79 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks. He also had two interception returns that he returned for touchdowns (38, 54 yards).
Dane Brugler in his NFL Draft guide, says about Grissom, “reliable motor with versatile experience, (two and three point stance), lining up at left and right defensive end and standing up as the “Jack” in the Sooners 3-4 scheme.”
Grissom has very good speed and acceleration when chasing down ball carriers out on the edge and can catch them in pursuit. He’s strong enough to shed blockers and set the edge but he’s still a developmental prospect. He’s considered more of an athlete than a football player.
Where Does He Fit With New England: Grissom dropped into coverage about the same amount that he rushed the quarterback at Oklahoma but looks a bit stiff in coverage. So while he could line up as an outside backer, I’d look for the Patriots to try to develop him as a edge rusher, either backing up Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich, Jabaal Sheard at defensive end or as a blitzer coming from the linebacker position.
Grissom is a versatile guy who may have only scratched the surface of his potential. Part of his lackluster production can possibly be tied to constant positional change. He may be a guy who will have only limited production in 2015 and will have to find a niche for himself.
The son of a coach who chose Oklahoma to be close to his father who was going thru cancer treatments, Grissom should find himself a fixture on special teams pretty quickly in New England.
Bill Belichick talked at length at his post-draft day press conference about Grissom noting, "He has good playing strength. He runs well. Then this year, it looked like they had more depth on the defensive line, they moved him to outside linebacker," Belichick said.
"So both last year and this year on third down he played end and then also bumped inside to an inside rusher position. They had pretty good edge guys, you know (Eric) Striker and the other kid, the underclassman. He was kind of the guy that would move down inside at times. He was productive there; the Alabama game for example. He's rushed inside, he's rushed outside. He's played anywhere from the end of the line, five-technique, defensive end in a 4-3, outside linebacker in a 3-4," Belichick added.
“I’d say he’s very instinctive as a pass rusher,” Belichick said of Grissom. “He’s in coverage a decent amount of the time as a walked-off linebacker. So you see a guy play out in space, out over the slot. He does a lot of that. So, for a guy to play from three-technique to end-of-the-line to a walked-out linebacker," Belichick said.
Here’s a highlight clip of Grissom showing his length and athleticism, picking off a pass and returning it for a touchdown against Texas
**Updated at 5:30 a,m.**
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