Report: Patriots Met With Defensive Back Over FaceTime
The New England Patriots will try to get a few players from the 2020 NFL Draft. According to recent reports, the team may be interested in a free agent. The Patriots FaceTimed a defensive back as confirmed by the player’s agent, Evan Brennan. Is Bill Belichick looking for someone like BYU defensive back Dayan Ghanwoloku?
“Several defensive back coaches are FaceTiming him daily,” Brennan said on the “Cougar Tracks Podcast.” “The Patriots reached out to him yesterday via FaceTime. He is getting an avalanche of interest.”
A lot of people have never heard of Ghanwoloku. The defensive back was not invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. Ghanwoloku doesn’t have an NFL.com draft profile and isn’t listed in Pro Football Focus’ comprehensive draft guide. If you ask The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, the defensive back ranks as this year’s 50th-best safety prospect.
The Patriots targeted a defensive back
Brennan himself admitted that Ghanwoloku may not be drafted this week.
“Although prospects aren’t great for guys not invited to the combine, especially this year, I have had 15 teams call me about Dayan in the last three days,” the agent told the Deseret News on April 9. “I don’t think he is going to get drafted, but he will be a highly sought-after PFA (priority free agent).”
But Ghanwoloku has everything the Patriots need. He was a four-year starter in BYU’s secondary. He also played both cornerback and safety. Ghanwoloku stacked 207 tackles, seven interceptions and seven forced fumbles in 48 career games (43 starts). The defensive back also played on special teams. He scored two offensive touchdowns on goal-line carries.
“Strong safety or nickel cornerback, those are the two spots (NFL teams) like me at,” Ghanwoloku told the Deseret News. “And then doing my thing on special teams, because that is the plus-one right there, the thing that will help me out and set me apart.”
The coronavirus pandemic changed this year’s draft. Teams won’t be able to do a regular meeting with targeted players. FaceTime is the only option they have at the moment. Ghanwoloku’s numbers popped from an unofficial personal workout. He had impressive times in the 40-yard dash (4.41 second) and three-cone drill (6.85 seconds). However, teams may do second thinking before giving him a chance.