With the flood of Free Agent signings, the Patriots have rebuilt their defense into what may be a top-tier NFL group.\u00a0\u00a0 They targeted young Free Agents that are well-established players already but are also coming into their prime years as players.\u00a0 I don\u2019t care if they appeared to overpay some of them, they had the available cap space and they went after their type of player who they feel will fit the scheme they want to play.<\/p>\n
Some quick thoughts:<\/p>\n
1) The signing of Matt Judon pleasantly surprised me.\u00a0 They tend to not go after the top Free Agents.\u00a0 Of all defensive Free Agents, Judon was at the top of my list.\u00a0\u00a0 He will set the edge and give them a legitimate pass rusher.\u00a0 Add to that the return of Donta Hightower and re-signing of Kyle Van Noy, they have a solid starting LB group that were not part of the team last year.<\/p>\n
2) The Defensive Line was swiss cheese last season.\u00a0 One of the worst against the run and offered little in the way of a pass rush.\u00a0 The opposition would run the no-huddle offense and force the Patriots to keep these guys on the field and they would not be able to generate any pressure on the QB.\u00a0 That will be different with the signings of Davon Godchaux, Henry Anderson, and Montravious Adams.\u00a0 Anderson was another I identified as a Patriots fit.\u00a0 He is a lunchpail kind of player.\u00a0 He brings it every down.\u00a0 Not flashy, just does his job.\u00a0 Adams has a lot to prove but this may be the opportunity to show what he can do.\u00a0 Godchaux is another unheralded player that is excellent against the run.\u00a0 They brought back Carl Davis who played well in the three games he played.\u00a0 However, he has a history of concussions, which makes him questionable.\u00a0 I would love to see Lawrence Guy return. I hope that is something the Pats will do.\u00a0 I also see them drafting a DT as well.<\/p>\n
3) Devin McCourty leads the secondary, the strength of the Defense.\u00a0 Patrick Chung retired, waiting until the Pats had signed Jalen Mills as his replacement.\u00a0 Mills was not on my radar.\u00a0 He has tremendous versatility in that he can play S, CB, or the slot.<\/p>\n
4) The Patriots gave JC Jackson a 2nd<\/sup> round tender.\u00a0 This move surprised me because I thought they were higher on him than just a 2nd<\/sup> round tender.\u00a0 However, I believe they gave him a 2nd<\/sup> round tender so that more teams would be interested in him.\u00a0 These other teams are setting his worth.\u00a0 From there, they probably intend to sign him to a long-term contract and they will likely match any offer.<\/p>\n 5) This leads to Stephon Gilmore.\u00a0 Other Free Agent signings are setting his market too.\u00a0 He is currently making $7M and I could see that boosting to double that in a three-year extension.\u00a0 I still see the Patriots drafting a Safety and Cornerback in the draft.\u00a0 Devin McCourty isn\u2019t getting any younger. \u00a0As for his brother Jason, the Pats are still talking with him, but I would think that\u2019s only in case someone gets hurt.\u00a0 Adrian Phillips had a great year for the Pats last year and Kyle Dugger played much more than a typical rookie in the Bill Belichick defense.<\/p>\n The future is bright for the defense and I believe they will have the capability to keep us in the game and let the offense gel until they can carry the load.<\/p>\n PRO DAY RESULTS:<\/strong><\/p>\n Georgia<\/strong><\/p>\n OG\/OC Ben Cleveland is a mountain of a man at 6\u20195\u201d 343 lbs.\u00a0 He ran a 4.97 40.\u00a0 There isn\u2019t an ounce of fat on him.<\/p>\n CG Eric Stokes ran a 4.28 40 at the EXOS Training combine.\u00a0 Scouts are taking another look at him because of the speed.\u00a0 He ran 4.3 at his Pro Day and 6.96 3-cone<\/p>\n DE Azeez Ojulari 6\u2019 2\u201d 249 lbs ran 4.62<\/p>\n Northwestern<\/strong><\/p>\n CB Greg Newsome 6\u2019 190 lbs., 4.37 40, 6.94 3-cone<\/p>\n Pittsburgh<\/strong><\/p>\n DT Jaylen Wyman 6\u2018 1\u201d, 301 lbs., cost himself a poor showing at his Pro Day.\u00a0 He ran a 5.51 40, the worst recorded by a D lineman this year.\u00a0 He did put up 40 reps of 225 lbs, which is excellent.\u00a0 His official height hinders him too.<\/p>\n Louisiana Tech<\/strong><\/p>\n DE Milton Williams 6\u20193\u201d 280 lbs, 4.63 40 (THAT\u2019S NOT A MISPRINT).\u00a0 He ran 4.64 at the EXOS Combine Day.\u00a0 He also posted 32 reps at 225 lbs.<\/p>\n Arkansas State<\/strong><\/p>\n WR Jonathan Adams 6\u20193\u201d, 218 lbs 4.49 40, 6.90 3- cone or 6\u20192\u201d, 210 lbs, 4.59 and a 7.04 3-cone.\u00a0 The reason I post these is to be sure I am using a reliable source.\u00a0 The former numbers were relayed by his agent trying to create a buzz.\u00a0 The latter was reported by a reliable source that has been doing this for many years.<\/p>\n Wisconsin-Whitewater<\/strong><\/p>\n OC\/LG Quinn Meinerz is a shade under 6\u20193\u201d, 320 lbs ran a 4.96 40.\u00a0 This from a reliable source.\u00a0 My earlier report had him running 4.86.\u00a0 All 32 teams were in attendance and 4 teams (CIN, DET, PIT, and NE) sent their OL coaches.\u00a0 Both Patriots OL coaches were in attendance.<\/p>\n Insider Information?<\/strong><\/p>\n Did the Patriots have insider information from Bob Kraft being on the negotiation team for the new TV contract?\u00a0 The new deal wasn\u2019t publically announced until after the new league year started and many Free Agent deals were already agreed to!\u00a0 The Patriots back loaded the deals (as they usually do \u2013 nothing new here) and kept the 2021 year salary cap hits lower.\u00a0 That is why Miguel Benzan (@PatsCap) is reporting they are presently slightly above $24M under the cap.\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t include the following contracts:<\/p>\n 1)Trent Brown on a one-year deal<\/p>\n 2) Justin Bethel on a three-year deal<\/p>\n 3) Ted Karras on a one-year deal<\/p>\n 4) Montravius Adams on a one-year deal<\/p>\n 5) Raekwon McMillan on a one-year deal<\/p>\n The bottom line is they have more Cap space to sign players, or if a QB is waived by another team (Mariota or Garappolo) they could get them under their cap.<\/p>\n PFF has declared the Patriots the most improved <\/strong><\/p>\n Using a metric system that measures Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of all the offseason moves the Patriots have made, they have improved by 6.9%.\u00a0 That takes into account the players coming and going (Hightower, Chung, Cannon, Brown, etc).\u00a0 The teams that have spent the most money during Free Agency over the past 9 seasons have improved between 3-6 wins over the previous season.\u00a0 Remember the Patriots were inches away from two more wins last season.<\/p>\n Players still love Belichick\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n It’s not the weather or the QB that entices Free Agents to sign with the Patriots.\u00a0 It\u2019s Bill Belichick.\u00a0 Jalen Mills’ reaction to meeting Bill Belichick the first time is priceless.\u00a0 Mills is talking with Belichick, and turns his back to him and yells to no one \u201cThis is Bill \u201cF@#%^(^#\u201d Belichick\u201d!\u00a0 Of course, Belichick doesn\u2019t miss a beat and continues uninterrupted with what he is saying.\u00a0 Hunter Henry knew the Pats had already signed Jonnu Smith, and he signed because the money was good and he wanted to play for Belichick.\u00a0 The overall sentiment is that Belichick puts the players in the best situation to help them and win games.<\/p>\n Kendrick Bourne sought out Wes Welker, 49\u2019ers WR coach, and QB Jimmy Garappolo about their experiences in NE.\u00a0 Both had glowing reports and that helped sway Bourne to sign with the Pats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With the flood of Free Agent signings, the Patriots have rebuilt their defense into what may be a top-tier NFL group.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":81,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[22522,22272,22519,22505,154,22521,22523,22234,1801,22507,534,22524,22526,2199,1215,1430,999,22525,22520,44,787,22269,1872,33,1029,1785],"class_list":["post-36210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-news","tag-azeez-ojulari","tag-ben-cleveland","tag-carl-davis","tag-davon-godchaux","tag-donta-hightower","tag-eric-stokes","tag-greg-newsome","tag-henry-anderson","tag-j-c-jackson","tag-jalen-mills","tag-jason-mccourty","tag-jaylen-wyman","tag-jonathan-adams","tag-justin-bethel","tag-kyle-van-noy","tag-lawrence-guy","tag-matt-judon","tag-milton-williams","tag-montravious-adams","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-patrick-chung","tag-quinn-meinerz","tag-raekwon-mcmillan","tag-robert-kraft","tag-ted-karras","tag-trent-brown"],"yoast_head":"\n