How Malcolm Butler’s success has helped Patriots in competition for undrafted rookies

11:10 PM ET

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots:

1. Calling it the “Malcolm Butler Effect” might be overstating it a bit, but one thing I learned this past week is that Butler’s rise from undrafted free agent to Pro Bowler with the Patriots is reflective of an advantage the team has over others when it comes to recruiting undrafted free agents. The Patriots signed three undrafted cornerbacks this year — Illinois’ V’Angelo Bentley, Auburn’s Jonathan Jones and Florida Atlantic’s Cre’Von LeBlanc –– and the agents for those players told me Butler is one example of why they advised their clients to sign in New England.

“Clearly when a tryout guy like Malcolm Butler ends up where he does, it’s an example of how they play the best players and it’s truly an open competition, no matter how you got there,” said Joe Linta, who represents Jones (4.3 time in the 40-yard dash, but teams had concerns about his size, 5-foot-9⅛).

“It doesn’t matter what round or what school you’re from, if you perform you will have a spot there,” added Harold Lewis, who represents both Bentley and LeBlanc. “You also know that you’re going to get top coaching in New England — you’re getting coached by the godfather [in Patriots head coach Bill Belichick] — and even if you get cut there’s a greater chance you might get picked up from there than some other teams.”

All three cornerbacks — Bentley, Jones and LeBlanc — had multiple suitors after the draft. Bentley and LeBlanc both received $17,500 in guaranteed money in their pacts with the Patriots, with Lewis saying there were slightly more lucrative offers elsewhere.

“Clearly when a tryout guy like Malcolm Butler ends up where he does, it’s an example of how they play the best players and it’s truly an open competition,” one agent said of the Patriots. Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire

The Patriots only signed eight undrafted free agents, and three were cornerbacks.

2. One of the primary questions that came up with NFL scouts and front-office folks when I asked about Patriots top pick Cyrus Jones, the cornerback from Alabama, is his size (5-foot-9⅞) and if that means his ceiling as a player will be as a nickelback playing solely on the inside part of the field. Jones played plenty on the perimeter in college, but some clubs don’t see the fit there in the NFL, which lessened his value on their boards.

3. A consistent theme I heard from others around the league about Patriots fourth-round pick Malcolm Mitchell, the 5-foot-11⅝, 198-pound receiver from Georgia, is his toughness over the middle as well as big, strong hands (10.5-inch hand size). “His best route is the skinny post,” one …

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