Every year an undrafted free agent makes a stacked Patriots team and finds a way to contribute. This year the Patriots have attacked their rookie free agent class like they usually do, but one player has stood out as far as his compensation.
Pats gave Harvey Langi $100k in guaranteed base salary. No other UDFA in the NFL has gotten more than $30k guaranteed base salary in ’17.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) May 2, 2017
That kind of financial commitment, along with the Patriots’ need at linebacker, make Langi a player to watch this summer. But how might he fit into their scheme and why would they put such a value on him?
Let’s take a deeper look.
The Patriots signaled their interest in Langi early in the draft process this spring, when Bill Belichick said that they would’ve taken him in the first round of the 2016 draft if he was eligible. The fact that Langi didn’t even get drafted in 2017 makes Belichick’s comments a little suspect. They were certainly out of character for a coach known for playing it close to the vest.
Still, the Pats signed Langi and paid him a big chunk of change to come to New England so the interest was clearly real.
Langi started at Utah as a running back, then took two years off for his Mormon mission. Upon returning he transferred to BYU where he played as a linebacker in 2015 and was moved to defensive end in 2016, a move that scouts didn’t like. His move to defense was predicated on wanting to play in the NFL.
“Go back and watch him against UCLA and Michigan in 2015 and you will see what he might become at middle linebacker. I don’t know why (BYU) put him on the edge this year because it didn’t help them and it did the kid a real disservice” said one NFC scout according to NFL.com.
There isn’t much film available of Langi, just one game from his junior year against his former team, Utah. But he’s playing middle linebacker in that tape, so it’s not a bad place to start. Though Utah jumped to a 35-0 lead in the first quarter so consider that as well.
As you’d expect from a former running back, Langi can run. He was a top performer at the combine in both the 20- and 60-yard shuttles, showing great agility. At 6’2″, 251 pounds he has ideal size for the middle. But after reviewing this game it’s hard for me to say this guy is destined to play defense for the Patriots. Special teams? Definitely. But he’ll have a lot of work to do to contribute as a linebacker.
While his speed and movement are good, his instincts and tackling don’t stand out. His NFL.com profile said he thinks rather than reacts and I think that is clearly on display in this game. Of course it doesn’t help that his team was overmatched, still, some players just seem to know where the ballcarrier is going, but Langi needs to see it first.
His speed and athleticism make up for some of his indecision, but they won’t be enough at the NFL level. Maybe those instincts can develop as he gets more experience, but they’re not there yet.
The great unknown is what happens with Belichickian coaching and a chance to settle in and re-learn the game from the middle linebacker position. Remember even Jamie Collins, who was similarly without a true position when he got into the NFL, needed some time to adjust. Langi certainly can move at an NFL level, but it’s hard to discern what his processing level is and what kind of leap he might make if everything “clicks”.
As much as I wanted to label Langi a legitimate linebacker candidate for the Patriots based on the amount of money they gave him, the film just doesn’t back it up. He’s nowhere even close to making the kind of decisive reads and impact stops that we saw consistently out of Elandon Roberts last year.
His instincts in the passing game are hard to read off of this one game tape as well. The Patriots certainly could use more athleticism at middle linebacker to compliment Roberts and Kyle Van Noy, but Langi remains an unknown.
Ultimately it seems like Belichick might just have a really big special teams crush on Langi. None of us will ever value special teams like the coaches rightly do and that’s why this situation might be easy to misread. With size and agility, Langi is a clear fit on the teams, especially because it takes some of the processing necessary on defense out of the equation.
Langi seems like a well-spoken, mature guy. He should fit into the Patriots’ culture from that perspective. How he fits on the field will be up to his performance and improvement on the practice fields of Foxboro this summer.
Successor to Matthew Slater?
Don’t think he has Slater’s speed as a gunner, but certainly can play a role on multiple STs.
Langi could be this year’s Mingo, a player people go gaga speculating over because of his raw physicality only to become a STer, he could be the annual UDFA that gets over analyzed because of his salary (like the LB from Michigan whose name escapes me), or he could become the stealth Collins replacement. I know that’s of much value as saying they’ll run, pass, or kick but truthfully I think fans don’t appreciate the fluidity of the bottom roster. For every Ninko or Butler there’s a thousand Dane Fletchers or Jeff Tarpinians (I hope that’s how to spell his name) who just contribute in small ways. I can’t wait to see all these kids compete and have fun seeing who develops. Not an opprobrium of you, this is your beat. But from a pure fan standpoint, not putting 1st round standards on some poor undrafted kid like a lot of Pats fans do. Just gonna enjoy the ride.
That’s a perfect comparison I think and similarly, we all thought Mingo would be a PASS RUSHER and he ended up just being a STs guy.