The Patriots love versatile defenders. And linebacker Christian Sam certainly fills the bill. Just ask his old defensive coordinator, Keith Patterson.
“Coming out of high school, Christian was a cornerback. Then, he moved to strong safety, and then an outside linebacker,” said Patterson, who was the defensive coordinator at Arizona State the past four years and worked closely with Sam. “And then, shortly after his Arizona State career started, that’s when we sat him down and told him his future was an inside linebacker.”
Is that the sort of career arc that could have him eventually filling the role of situational/coverage linebacker, something the Patriots’ lacked in 2017? That remains to be seen, at least when it comes to the 2018 campaign. But a look at his college work and a chat with Patterson reveals Sam is just the sort of sideline-to-sideline defender who can fill multiple roles and has the ball skills necessary to stick with New England.
The sixth-round pick out of Arizona State is a 6-foot-2, 244-pounder had some struggles at the college level, including a season-ending foot injury in the first game of the 2016 season that ultimately forced him to take a medical redshirt year. But he bounced back last year to nab honorable mention All Pac-12 honors, leading the conference with 127 tackles. In addition, he had 9.5 for loss, three sacks, and two pass breakups.
The Patriots add Arizona State linebacker Christian Sam. Sam ranked eighth among draft eligible inside linebacker with 60 tackles resulting in a defensive stop last season
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) April 28, 2018
Overall, it was the final line on what turned out to be an impressive collegiate career for Sam, who moved from corner to inside linebacker as he continued to grow and make progress in the Arizona State system. (Patterson said the staff considered keeping him at corner because of his ball skills ... until he continued to grow.)
Those seamless transitions at the college level helped shape Sam into the sort of defender who is pretty much used to having anything thrown his way. It’s an attitude that should help him succeed at the next level, says Patterson.
“When it comes to the transitions he’s been asked to make over the course of his career — from corner to safety to outside linebacker to inside linebacker — he should be able to make the transition to the NFL,” Patterson said of Sam.
“I would put him on a slot receiver … he can cover tight ends, or guys out of the backfield,” Patterson said of Sam, who had three interceptions in his three years at Arizona State. “That goes back to his time as a corner. He’s definitely a guy who can work in coverage — we had no problem having him work against backs and tight ends in the passing game.”
Patterson points to last year’s upset win over Washington as the moment where Sam’s linebacking skills meshed with his background as a defensive back, finally revealing the sort of defender the staff was hoping to see.
“(That game) was a great example of the fact that he had learned how to play behind his pads,” Patterson said. “What I mean when I say that is when you play at the second level as a defensive back, your pad level is more elongated. As a linebacker, he had to learn how to play with a lower pad level and more of a power base, all while keeping that quickness. That game, to me, really showed that he had come a long way in that regard. That was a glimpse into what he had become.
“There were a lot of other games the last couple years where he had a lot of tackles, but that game against Washington, that showed me he had become a really good inside linebacker.”
Is all of this enough for him to able to succeed at the next level? It’s on him to be able to make the adjustments needed. He’ll likely have to make his bones on special teams in the early going, and Patterson praised Sam’s special team skill, saying the ASU special teams coach — and former Green Bay special teams coach — Shawn Slocum “laid a strong foundation” for Sam to succeed as a special teamer at the NFL level.
For what it's worth, Patterson dismissed a pre-draft report that Sam didn’t like practice, but did say that he has a tendency to get inside his own head a bit.
“I don’t know if this is necessarily a weakness, but to me, Christian can have a tendency to overanalyze things,” Patterson said. “He’s a smart guy, and he’ll study and study and study, and sometimes, he’ll do too much. He needs to be more naturally instinctive. He studies — a lot — and a lot of times, he’ll know an opportunity too well, if that makes sense. He over-analyzes things, and that can sometimes slow him down. He just needs to turn it loose and let his God-given ability take over and trust what he sees.”
In the end, Patterson believes that will happen, and that the Patriots got a versatile player with has a high ceiling, one who could be a contributor for many years to come.
“For him to go in the sixth round … I’m telling you … I mean, he had an injury. He had a couple of injuries that set him back,” Patterson said. “But he’s a high character guy and a good person who has been blessed with a lot of God-given natural ability. What he could become in three or four years, he could be special.”