Chase Winovich quickly made it clear: he’ll fit right in with the New England Patriots. Winovich spoke with reporters after the Patriots drafted him in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft on Friday night. He fielded a question about whether he’d had pre-draft contact with New England.
“I’d rather wait until I get further instruction,” Winovich said on Friday night.
Stonewalling. He already knows The Patriot Way. That’s a wise young man, who knows how to get on Bill Belichick’s good side.
Winovich also referred to himself as a “junkyard dog, just tenacious, relentless effort and motor, just scrapping for every inch. But at the same time, I like to think I’m slippery.”
Again, music to Belichick’s ears.
Even after listing those attributes, he laughed off the his NFL.com draft profile, which says Winovich has “zombie blood running through his veins.
“Zombie blood running through my veins? I’m really not sure,” he said. “That’s kind of always been my mantra – just to outwork everybody. That’s always been my goal, and obviously at the next level with someone like the New England Patriots, hard work is a fundamental key component and they’ve done a great job I think of making that a cultural thing. I’m just lucky to be a part of it. I take that as a big compliment. Not everybody can do that and go as hard as I can on every play. That’s definitely a bonus for me.”
On a more serious note, Winovich fits nicely in New England’s front-seven as a defensive end (and perhaps even as a hybrid linebacker, much like retired Patriot Rob Ninkovich). The Patriots will need another edge player to line up across from defensive end Michael Bennett. Perhaps Winovich can win that job in 2019. Without a doubt, he’s got the technique, work ethic and past production to justify slotting him into a starting role for Week 1. He’ll have to overcome his short arms and relatively small size (6-foot-3, 255 pounds), but that didn’t seem like a problem in college.
As a third round pick, Winovich could slip down the depth chart — and disappear into anonymity like any mid round pick. But his profile and his history speak to a player who could also be very relevant in 2019.
