World News – US – 3 defensive free agents patriots might sign up to fix this mess

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – 22. NOVEMBER: T. . J. . Watt # 90 and Bud Dupree # 48 of the Pittsburgh Steelers react in the second half against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field on Jan.. November 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)

Accuse the wrongdoing of what you want, Patriot fans. That doesn’t really hold this team back. It’s the defense and it’s time to come to terms with it. We know it’s tough because New England and Bill Belichick usually play the best unit in the league year after year, but in 2020 everything collapsed.

The exodus of the free agents certainly hurt. The losses of Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, Elandon Roberts, Danny Shelton and others were a heavy blow. The following opt-outs – Dont’a Hightower and Patrick Chung – didn’t help either. In short, the patriots have been exposed. Loss of free agents is rarely an excuse for this type of submission.

Teams should prepare for such descents. Do you know how to build depth through design? It’s pretty normal. While the last 20 years in Patriot Land have been daunting, Belichick hasn’t drawn particularly well since 2014, and the results have been pretty obvious this season. The pats just couldn’t score with their picks for the first or second round, and that’s a serious problem.

But 2021 is a new year! New design. New free agent class. Starting over after that likely dud of the campaign is sure to feel good. And the patriots will have a lot of space. Repairing the defense should be a priority, so here are some people Belichick should open Robert Kraft’s checkbook to.

How about another Alabama guy on the Pats? Dalvin Tomlinson has been with the New York Giants since his selection in the second round in 2017. The 6-foot-3,318-pound giant has not missed a game in his NFL career and is really on the rise in the 3-4 scheme after being a 4-3 defender for the first two seasons.

In 10 games in 2020 he has 35 tackles, 1. 5 sacks, four passes defended, five tackles for one loss and seven QB hits. He is well on his way to hitting career highs in all of these stats, with the exception of sacks (and defended passes as this is already a career high) with six games left.

Its effect goes beyond the box score, too. The man is an ordinary run-stuffer, which is exactly what the patriots have valued enormously over the past 20 years. There was always someone in the middle plugging holes or disturbing the quarterback, and this year there was just none of that.

The Patriots have been hurt left and right, be it from the run or thanks to QBs who have tons of time in their pockets to go through all of their readings. Tomlinson would be an instant batsman, and Belichick would have a lot easier sleep at night if he started using the nasal device every Sunday.

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