Patriots Select Malcom Brown: Strengths and Weaknesses from Burnt Orange Nation

When the New England Patriots selected Malcom Brown with the last pick in the first round last night, they selected a player that many believed to be the best prospect left on the board.

So what exactly are the Patriots getting in Brown? Let's turn to the experts that watched him develop as a college player.

Leading up to the draft, SB Nation's Texas Longhorn's blog, Burnt Orange Nation, did a full scouting profile on Brown. Here are some of the highlights from their report:

Strengths

Motor:

Ever since high school, one aspect of Brown's game that always stood out was his motor. One highlight reel featured Brown chasing plays 30 or 40 yards downfield just because he believed that he had a chance to make a play. When he started experiencing more success at Texas, that never changed with him -- when the Brenham product was on the field, he left everything he had on it.

Understanding of the game, physical skills to back it up

Of course, a motor that runs hot and an understanding of the game wouldn't matter if Brown possessed merely average physical skills -- Brown is light on his feet, with uncommon quickness for a 320-pounder, allowing him to quickly engage opponents and then use his strong hands to stack and shed them, scraping down the line of scrimmage against the run game.

Bull rush and swim move

Capable of creating displacement with his bull rush, Brown can also flash a swim move to create sacks and tackles for loss. All of those skills combine to make him extremely difficult to block.

Weaknesses

Lower body strength

Compared to teammate Hassan Ridgeway, Brown doesn't have immense power in his lower body, which can make it difficult for him to maintain the point of attack against double teams.

Counter moves as a rusher

And though his bull rush is effective and he can attack half a man to create penetration, he doesn't possess a highly-polished skill set as a pass rusher with multiple counter moves.

Pad level and consistency

Leverage can also become a problem for Brown at times when he gets tired and lets his pad level get high. He also failed to consistently dominate during the season as he did in flashes against opponents like UCLA.

Be sure to head on over to Burnt Orange Nation for their full breakdown on Brown.