Which player are you most excited about?

Marqui said:

The main thing I'll be looking for with Hightower is his weight. I'm pretty much done with him if he shows up to TC at 270 again.

Click to expand...

Marqui said:

The main thing I'll be looking for with Hightower is his weight. I'm pretty much done with him if he shows up to TC at 270 again.

Click to expand...

KontradictioN said:

That's fine if he's going to be taking a lot of snaps at DE. Not so much if he's planning on being the Mike. There's only so much you can do as a coach to hide him there.

Click to expand...

April's NFL Draft was full of surprises, none which were more surprising than the New England Patriots trading up twice to select two downhill players. One of those players was Dont'a Hightower, a large-sized inside linebacker that has the versatility to play a variety of roles in the front seven. At the University of Alabama, Hightower did just that, playing all over the Crimson Tide's defensive front.

But before I get to his vast alignments, it's important to identify who he is and what type of talent he brings to the Patriots.

Like his teammate Brandon Spikes, Hightower is bigger than your typical inside linebacker. Defenses have moved to shorter and quicker linebackers while the Patriots have continued placing an emphasis on size, which is what they get with the 6'2", 265-pound Hightower.

Moreover, Hightower did several things at Alabama, most notably roaming the middle of the field in the often-discussed 'Cover 1 Robber' concept. This meant that he wasn't assigned an offensive player to cover like his teammates, instead playing zone in the short and intermediate depths and attempting to get his hands on passes by undercutting routes.

When he wasn't playing zone, he was manning tight ends, which he did OK. He didn't stand out in this area because he lacks fluidity, great instincts and overall foot speed, but he wasn't a detriment to the team either because of the way the coverages were played. His pass coverage will be one area that will be interesting to monitor throughout his career to see whether he does well or not.

Hightower did his best work when he was used as a downhill player at Alabama, where he has the play in front of him and is able to read it. He doesn't have issues in this part of his game because he is very strong in his lower body and quick to read and recognize plays. He also possesses the ability to stack and shed blockers.

Click to expand...

mayoclinic said:

I came across this old Alen Dumonjic article on Hightower, written at the beginning of training camp in 2012:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1279132-what-does-donta-hightowers-versatility-bring-to-the-patriots-defense

The article hits on a lot of the issues that are still questions about Hightower:



The full article is well worth reading, but I think Dumonjic hits on a bunch of key points, including:

- Hightower is probably best playing with the play in front of him, and playing "downhill".
- Hightower has good zone coverage ability, and can be used effectively as a robber.
- Hightower has limited range and lateral agility, which limits him in man coverage.
- Hightower's limited range is a question mark as far as playing 4-3 MLB.

It seems to me that Hightower is a guy who you really have to use in ways that play to his strengths, and cover up for his weaknesses. The Pats haven't done as good a job of that as Nick Saban did in college. In particular, Mayo went down and the Pats asked Hightower to be something that he just didn't have the skills for, he floundered terribly.

Click to expand...

KontradictioN said:

Agree with this, and thanks for the read. As I said in the draft forum, I've long thought that Hightower was being misused in this defense (granted, last year it was out of pure need). I don't think he's ideal as a LB in today's NFL. I think Hightower would be much better served to keep the extra weight on and move down to DE full time. But that's up to the coaching staff.

Click to expand...

PATS68 said:

I thought Hightower was pretty good in the playoffs and was getting better in the position as the year went along. Off-season, and training camp under his belt I think he will be a much better player. It also will help having Mayo back next to him.

Click to expand...

PATS68 said:

I thought Hightower was pretty good in the playoffs and was getting better in the position as the year went along. Off-season, and training camp under his belt I think he will be a much better player. It also will help having Mayo back next to him.

Another point Hightower had nothing in front of him. Kelly and Wilfork both being back will help him big time.

Click to expand...

KontradictioN said:

I think people will mistakenly believe that he was playing well in the playoffs because of one play in the divisional round, but he really wasn't. I will say that his coverage on that play was good, but that play was the exception rather than the rule.

Click to expand...

mayoclinic said:

I think that with Mayo, Anderson and Collins to provide superior range and cover up for some of Hightower's deficiencies that Hightower can be an effective 2-down MLB (especially if he has a better DL in front of him and a better secondary behind him). I also think that he can compete for sub-rushing time. Whether that's enough to justify a long term tenure with the team, and whether he can become more than that, are open questions IMO.

Click to expand...

Sicilian said:

One of the more interesting battles in TC is going to be the edge rushers on 3rd down. I can envision a scenario in which Chandler kicks inside to play next to Easley (or Chris Jones in the early part of the season), leaving two DE positions open for competition. I imagine Ninko has the inside track for the bulk of the snaps at one end, but if the goal is to keep him from playing 95-98% of the snaps again this year, there should be plenty of opportunities for Hightower to get into the mix at DE on 3rd down.

The other options are Smith, who needs to prove his knee is okay, and Buchanan, who needs to prove he can develop into a reliable option. I won't be surprised if we see a heavy rotation between all four. And, of course, injuries may end up making the decision easier.

Click to expand...

mayoclinic said:

I think that Smith, Buchanan, Hightower and Jamie Collins are all options as sub rushers. Collins may be the most explosive of the bunch, and Ninkovich isn't a lock. Imagine the following:

- Easley and Chandler Jones inside, with Collins and Hightower/Ninkovich/Smith/Buchanan outside in a "NASCAR" package in 3rd down passing situations
- Mayo and Anderson as the LBs
- Revis, Browner, McCourty, Ryan and one of Dennard/Harmon at DB

Click to expand...

Sicilian said:

While part of me likes the idea of Collins as a hand-in-the-dirt rusher, I think the best thing we can do with him is have him standing up, in a position to cover a TE. Then he can blitz or drop back to cover, and the offense has to try to guess which. He potentially gives us an element of surprise that wouldn't be there if he's on the line. Certain packages and matchups though, I can definitely see what you're saying.

Click to expand...

Marqui said:

I agree, I think Collins is going to be doing a lot more covering TEs man-to-man on 3rd downs like he did towards the end of last year. Rather than rushing as a DE.

Click to expand...

Marqui said:

I agree, I think Collins is going to be doing a lot more covering TEs man-to-man on 3rd downs like he did towards the end of last year. Rather than rushing as a DE.

Click to expand...

Sicilian said:

And the best part of that is that he can do that while lining up in a position where a blitz is possible on any given play. And with two other linebackers that are coverage capable (Anderson and Mayo, to at least a competent extent), they can shade someone over there to cover that TE once Collins rushes.

Click to expand...