The Sports Xchange

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Defensive lineman Malcom Brown is already justifying his selection in the first round of the draft this year when the New England Patriots made him the No. 32 overall pick.

The 6-foot-2, 320-pounder from Texas has six tackles, a sack and three passes defensed. According to his head coach, Brown shows improvement every week.

“Malcom works hard and he’s a smart guy,” coach Bill Belichick said of the wide-bodied rookie. “He understands what we want him to do. It’s just a big learning curve like it is for every rookie coming into the National Football League, playing against players that are more comparable athletically than what there was in college and seeing the different schemes and dealing with experienced players that when you’re an inexperienced player, that’s an adjustment.

“But he’s done well with that and I think the last couple weeks have been good. Hopefully he can continue to move in that direction. I thought he played probably his best game against Dallas. I think there is a lot more than that, but we’re headed in the right direction if he keeps working hard and applying himself on the practice field and in film study. He can continue to improve.”

–Safeties Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung rank third and fifth respectively on tackles by Patriots this season and Belichick says his two current safeties are among the best tacklers he ever saw.

“Devin McCourty is an outstanding tackler,” Belichick said. “Chung is one of the best tacklers that I’ve had at safety. Look, everybody is going to miss, just like every receiver is going to drop a pass, just like every quarterback is going to throw an interception, just like every running back at some point is going to drop the ball. But the guys that don’t miss many tackles, you want them on your team.”

NOTES: Among those limited in practice Wednesday were cornerback Tarrell Brown (foot), defensive lineman Trey Flowers (knee/shoulder) and linebacker Dont’a Hightower (ribs).