Bill Belichick says Cre’Von LeBlanc went undrafted for similar reasons as Malcolm Butler
"His testing numbers, I’m sure that’s part of the reason why he didn’t get drafted either.”
Bill Belichick sees some similarities between undrafted rookie cornerback Cre’Von LeBlanc and Malcolm Butler, one of the most famous undrafted cornerbacks currently in the NFL.
Belichick drew the comparison Butler when asked why LeBlanc went undrafted.
“I think what you saw in film and what you saw in workout numbers, I don’t know that it quite matches up,” Belichick said Tuesday before practice. “Sort of like Malcolm [Butler], it’s a little bit of the same thing with Malcolm. His testing numbers, I’m sure that’s part of the reason why he didn’t get drafted either.”
LeBlanc said Tuesday after practice that he has run the 40-yard dash in the 4.4 and 4.5 second range. At his Pro Day, however, he ran it in 4.65 seconds. He also measures in at 5-foot-9 and 194 pounds, which NFL.com deemed a weakness of his, as the site notes he is “too small to play outside.“
For many reasons — measurables being a big one, according to Belichick — LeBlanc went undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft.
“It’s a shocker,” LeBlanc said Tuesday of going undrafted. “But everything happened for a reason. That’s all I’m going to say.”
LeBlanc has excelled during Patriots’ training camp. The rookie cornerback hasn’t gotten reps with the first team like second-rounder Cyrus Jones has. But LeBlanc seems to be working his way up the long list of defensive backs by contributing on special teams and defense.
His strong camp came to a climax with his one-handed interception in the end zone during the Patriots’ 34-22 preseason win over the Saints on Thursday. He was in outside coverage, where some may have originally deemed him too small for effectiveness. LeBlanc said that interception helped boost his confidence, which is essential to becoming a good cornerback.
“You have to have a lot of confidence, not cockiness so to speak. But you have to have a lot of confidence,” LeBlanc said. “That was my first NFL game, so my nerves were kind of jittery. I was a little nervous at first, but once I got in about five or six plays, it kind of went away, and I just did what I do best.”
Though his confidence is building, LeBlanc is still a long shot to make the team, but he said he looks up to Butler and the entire unit of defensive backs as a source of inspiration.
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