Patriots Edge Rushers:

The Patriots still have needs at OT, RB, CB and now at DT with the releases of Dominique Easley, Chris Jones, and Ishmaa’ily Kitchen

While much has been made about the Pats inability to develop wide receivers, the interior pass rushing presence has been missing for quite some time.

Carl Nassib from Penn State led the country in sacks with 15.5 in 2015 and also had 19.5 tackles for loss (TFL) and six forced fumbles.

With the continued moves the Patriots are conducting in free agency, it makes their job a bit easier once the draft rolls around. Without as many holes to fill, they can be flexible and opt for the best player available or move up and down if they so choose.

The Patriots bringing in veteran DL Terrence Knighton was a big move figuratively and literally for the team this week. The 6’3, 354 pound Knighton whose nickname is ‘Pot Roast’, will turn 30 on July 4th but should have plenty left in the tank to help out the Patriots rotation at DT.

Jordan Jenkins from Georgia is a player that fits the bill of what Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia look for in outside linebacker.

Belichick then got TE Marcellus Bennett and a 6th round pick from the Bears for a 4th round pick. Bennett is a dynamic tight end who should pair well with Rob Gronkowski and give Tom Brady big targets in the red zone as well as excellent blockers in the running game. Bennett caught 90 passes two years ago but was injured in 2015.

McClellin was originally drafted by the Bears in the first round of the 2012 draft from Boise State with the 19th overall and used as a defensive end. He was reportedly on the Patriots radar in the draft but the Bears selected him two picks before New England selected Chandler Jones.

Adding Long was a master stroke by Bill Belichick as within hours he was able to swing a trade for DE Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals for a 2nd round draft pick as well as G Jonathan Cooper and then add Long to replace Jones on the roster.

A couple of quick thoughts on the Combine, while it has been held in Indy for the past 30+ years, and is centrally located in the country, perhaps, like the NFL Draft, it is time for the Combine to make the rounds and visit other cities

In this episode, we started by discussing the latest in Patriots news and speculation. After that we graded and analyzed the Patriots defense for the 2015 season, and then looked at each unit looking towards the 2016 season.

Mayo was taken with the 10th pick of the 2008 NFL Draft and immediately paid dividends. He was the Defensive Rookie of the Year and a 2-time Pro-Bowler but he was much more than that.

The team needs some youth, size and speed on the outside. Not necessarily a deep threat, that everyone clamors for, since that isn’t their offense. But someone who can stretch the field horizontally as well as vertically and has the size to go up and grab those contested throws.

Kraft did add later, “I happened to see Archie [Manning] there. He has two sons now who have won two Super Bowls, but with all due respect, we’ve got one son who has won four.”

Siliga is one of those big bodied guys who are invaluable as run stuffers. One of the indelible moments of training camp was his crunching hit of Tyler Gaffney on August 1, shooting across the gap and leveling the runner as he was trying to get to the second level