When you hear a player being compared to Jerod Mayo and Mike Vrabel, that's usually a very good thing.
Bill Belichick did just that on Sirius Satellite Radio's "Movin' the Chains" show, talking about recent first round draft pick Dont'a Hightower out of Alabama.
Belichick brought in a number of players last year to make 3-4 and 4-3 in-game switch seamless, and that versatility appears to be something he zoned in on with Hightower.
"Dont'a's a very versatile player," Belichick said. "He's been used in a number of different roles in Coach Saban's defense. He's played down at the end of the line both down and up and of course he's played that middle linebacker position for them in a variety of fronts whether it be their regular base defense or also their nickel and dime defense."
But it's not just what Hightower does on the field, it's what he can bring to the team off the field as well.
"Real smart guy, similar to Jerod Mayo I would say in terms of leadership and command, and being able to run the defense, and that type of thing," Belichick said. "He's big, over 260 pounds, somewhere in that range, 260-to-270, big strong guy that can do some different things, or at least did for Alabama. We'll see exactly where he's going to fit in here. I think he's got some versatility, different but similar to Mike Vrabel in some respects, playing outside, playing inside, playing down, playing up, that type of thing where he might have different roles for us depending on what unit we have out there."
Belichick was also asked about third round pick Jake Bequette, of which he mentioned his pass-rush ability numerous times.
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"He's got good length, good speed, he's got kind of a knack for rushing the passer in terms of his pass-rush repertoire is probably better than some guys coming out of college, let's put it that way. I think that he has a chance again, similar to Chandler Jones, when he was put through the linebacker drills at Indianapolis he moved around pretty competitively. So we'll see how that comes together. But, a long guy that has some pass rush production in college."