Nick Coe Summary: Can Once-Promising Prospect Find Role With Patriots

Nick Coe was once a top NFL prospect. He was considered a first-round talent after hitting seven sacks and 13 ½ tackles for loss as a sophomore in 2018. Coe’s productivity plummeted, and his draft stock went down.

The talented player finished his final year in the SEC with 15 total tackles, three tackles for loss and zero sacks. He skipped Auburn’s bowl game and his senior season to hit the 2020 NFL Draft. However, he was not among the 255 players teams selected.

New England signed Coe as an undrafted free agent with a contract that includes $40,000 in guaranteed money. This is the ninth-highest total in the Patriots’ 15-man UDFA class.

Nick Coe had great talent

Coe measured at 6-foot-5, 291 pounds on Auburn’s 2019 roster. He is a versatile defensive lineman and can play anything from D-tackle to outside linebacker.

“He can play outside, he can play inside, he can play off the ball,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn during preseason camp. “He’s a very versatile player that gives our defense a lot of flexibility. It’s kind of rare, but I think it’s a good rare.”

Last August, the Montgomery Advertiser wrote a story headlined: “Nick Coe can play any position on the defensive line, and he doesn’t care where Auburn puts him.”

How could Malzahn and his staff boost Coe’s multifaceted skill set?

“There’s some things I could’ve done better and everything, but it was never nothing explained to me as to why I didn’t get the starting position or anything, or why I didn’t play that position,” Coe told reporters at the pre-draft showcase. “They understood what was really going on and during the whole process, so I just told them throughout this whole past year it was just uncomfortable and everything. It was really difficult.

“Just looking at it, I was thinking about even though, for me I took a lot on myself because I wasn’t starting or anything. I thought I’d be starting the same position and all. I took a lot on myself, trying to affect adversity, trying to get better on the field and see if I can get my starting position back. It really hurt me during that time period, and now I realize that I was trying to help the team out more than I was trying to help myself out. Then when I was trying to help the team out with certain stuff, it wasn’t really working out for me.”