The New England Patriots have selected Nebraska defensive tackle Vincent Valentine with the 96th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Valentine is a 6'3 5/8, 330 lbs behemoth that runs a surprisingly athletic 5.19 40 yard dash with a 29 inch vertical and 9'2 broad jump. Those numbers imply a burst that is rare for a player of his size.
Valentine started 24 of his 36 games at Nebraska, but was hampered by injuries (ankle) throughout his career and by a coaching change that neutered the team's defensive line. He has monstrous strength that can easily discard blockers and he can just sit in the middle of the field and take on double teams.
The Patriots appear to be moving towards space-eating defensive tackles with Alan Branch, Malcom Brown, Terrance Knighton, and now Valentine, and all of these players are big enough to take on double teams and eliminate runs up the middle of the field.
There are some concerns about Valentine's conditioning, but the Patriots seem to be comfortable with larger defensive tackles with weight problems, like Vince Wilfork, Branch, and Knighton. Maybe Valentine will eventually be asked to take over for Branch down the road.