Earlier on Thursday, news broke that defensive tackle Vince Wilfork had asked the New England Patriots for his release, which will end his 10-year run with the organization. Because of this, Bill Belichick and the Pats now have a huge hole to fill on their defensive line–literally–and they could look to fill that void through way of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Lucky for them, there’s basically a clone of Wilfork in this year’s bunch in the form of Notre Dame’s Louis Nix III, or as he’s more affectionately known–Irish Chocolate.
NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks mentioned that fact that Nix is basically the same as Wilfork, while also pointing out that Nix could still be available when it’s the Patriots’ turn to choose this May.
"“He should be available when the Patriots pick. Nose tackles aren’t top priorities,” Brooks said of Nix. “Makes a lot of sense there. He’s a Wilfork clone.”"
This March 20, Nix will have the chance to show himself off even more at his Pro Day, and if all goes well, he might want to get used to the idea of playing for Bill Belichick.
Which, in reality, seems about the same as playing for Brian Kelly.