What Matt Wells Had To Say After Being Drafted By Patriots
BOSTON (CBS) -- With the 178th pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, the Patriots selected Mississippi State linebacker Matt Wells.
Wells spoke to the New England media via conference call shortly after being drafted on Saturday.
Question: What was your feeling upon getting the call from the Patriots?
Wells: It was a great feeling. I was just sitting down having a bite to eat and I was just watching the draft and they called my name. I saw the Patriots pick and I was just overjoyed by the pick.
Question: What did the Patriots tell you about what position they might use you at?
Wells: I don't really know. Whatever they want me to play, that's the position I'll play. I don't really know. Whatever position they have for me, that's what I'm willing to do.
Question: Would you rule out running back from your perspective?
Wells: Like I said, it doesn't matter. Whatever position they think I'm best at and want to try me at, that's what I'm willing to play.
Question: Are you legally blind in one of your eyes?
Wells: I am, by number. I can see, just not the reading, but it's just the legal number for it. I can see out of it. It's been like that since I've been smaller, so it's all I really know.
Question: Which eye is that?
Wells: My right eye.
Question: So it doesn't really impact you in football?
Wells: It doesn't, no.
Question: What was it like playing for Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen?
Wells: It was a great experience. He pretty much came in and changed the program, which I was coming in a year after he came in. It was a big change that he brought to the program. Like I said, he put us in a lot of positions to succeed. He also taught us how to be a great man along with being a great football player.
Question: In this internet age, information on you was surprisingly difficult on you to come by. What would you say your strengths are?
Wells: A big strength for me would probably be length and speed, most of all.
Question: How much experience did you have on special teams? Did you enjoy what you brought to that aspect of the game?
Wells: Yeah, like I said, coach Mullen changed a lot of stuff about this program, meaning he thought that we had to start out on special teams before we could even have a regular position. That's a big thing as you transition from high school to college and then it would also be from college to the NFL. So, I've played pretty much every special teams, and if I have to again, I will.
Question: How close are you with Deontae Skinner?
Wells: We are pretty close. We played the same position for a couple years when he was there at [Mississippi] State. We are pretty close.
Question: Has he reached out to you at all since being drafted?
Wells: Yeah, he reached out to me and told me congratulations and all that. We didn't have too much time to say anything after, but he reached out to tell me congratulations.
Question: How would you describe your role in comparison to Benardrick McKinney in the Mississippi State defense?
Wells: He's an athletic guy, long. He's a big guy, so he played middle linebacker. My position for that role, coach Mullen put me in the best position that he thought I could play. My role was to pretty much do everything basically that maximized my ability in my role on that Mississippi State team, covering receivers or even playing linebacker or whatever.
Question: Any connections to Boston or New England?
Wells: None at all, no.
Question: Have you been here before?
Wells: I have.
Question: What brought you to Boston?
Wells: I went on a pre-draft visit.
Read all of the comments from the Patriots' 2015 draft picks by clicking here.