The New England Patriots Pro Day circuit took them 35 minutes up the road to old friend Bill O’Brien’s Boston College Eagles.
New England was one of 29 NFL teams in attendance on Monday and had a large contingent on hand that was led by head coach Mike Vrabel, who has a long relationship with O’Brien. The Patriots former offensive coordinator hopes BC can become a pipeline of sorts for the Patriots, who signed one Eagle as undrafted free agent last offseason.
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“Obviously Mike’s done an unbelievable job with the Patriots in a very short time, turning that around,” O’Brien said following the workout. “We try to recruit guys that are tough, that are smart, that are dependable, and I think those are the type of guys that [Vrabel’s] looking for on his team.
“So you’re hoping there’s a little bit of a pipeline, but you know, these guys for us today did a great job. The offensive line, the tight end, Lewis Bond, Jude Bowry, Logan Taylor, Hutchins, they all did a great job today. It was good to see that.”
The Patriots were well represented beyond Vrabel. VP of Player Personnel Ryan Cowden, director of college scouting Tony Kinkela and personnel coordinator Brian Smith were among the front office members in Chestnut Hill. Outside linebacker coach Mike Smith and offensive line coach Doug Marrone, who previously worked at BC under O’Brien, also ran through on-field drills with players.
That group included offensive lineman Jude Bowry and Logan Taylor and edge rusher Quintayvious Hutchins — all three who chatted briefly with Vrabel throughout the session.
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“Talking to me about my hand placement, like the strain, the strike, and stuff like that. Work with the hands,” Hutchins said. “Low-key, I did [think he was testing me]. But that’s what I wanted to happen to where it seemed like he’s comfortable with my strength as a player, as he’s a coach looking at me. I did feel that but I didn’t mind it.”
Among the top projected prospects in attendance was wide receiver Lewis Bond, who broke Zay Flowers’ school record with 213 career receptions and was surprisingly not invited to the NFL Combine last month. With the size of an inside receiver, O’Brien compared Bond’s role in the Eagles’ offense to those of former Patriots’ slot receivers.
Bond’s 40-yard dash was in the 4.5 range, according to scouts in attendance, and the receiver followed up an impressive on-field workout with a chat of his own with Mike Vrabel.
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“He’s a great guy, kind of reminds me of Coach O’Brien. All about football, he’s smart, knows football, very disciplined, and he leads that way,” Bond said.
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