3 Free Defensive Agents New England can sign to mend this mess

Regardless of withdrawal, the Patriots still need help in defense.

Blame the crime as you like, Patriots fans. This is not really holding this team back. It’s defense and it’s time to come to terms with it. We know it’s tough because New England and Bill Bilesick usually play the best unit in the league year after year, but it all comes down to 2020.

Free agent exodus is painful, no doubt. The losses of Kyle Van Noye, Jimmy Collins, Elandon Roberts, Danny Shelton and others were a huge blow. The unsubscribing that followed – Dont’a Hightower and Patrick Chung – didn’t help either. But the Patriot, in short, has been revealed. Rarely is the loss of free agents an excuse for this kind of decline.

Teams are supposed to do that Prepare For such a departure. Did you know, the depth of construction through the draft? They are very normal things. Even though the past 20 years at Patriot Land have been pretty impressive, Bilesic hasn’t modeled well since 2014, and the results have been crystal clear this season. The Bates couldn’t make it to their picks in the first or second round, which is a serious problem.

But 2021 is a new year! New draft. New free agent category. Starting from scratch after this potential campaign flop will definitely feel satisfied. And the Patriots will have a lot of space to spend. Defense repair should take priority, so here are a few of the guys Belichick should look out for opening Robert Kraft’s checkbook.

3. Dolphin Tomlinson

Patriots can use a dolphin Tomlinson to stuff the center.

How about another young man from Alabama on Bates? Dolphin Tomlinson He’s been with the New York Giants since being picked in the second round in 2017. The 6-foot, 3, and 318-pound gigantic has never missed a match in his NFL career and has made huge progress in the 3 -4 chart after he was A 4-3 defensive midfielder in his first two seasons.

During 10 matches in 2020, he had 35 tackles, 1.5 sacks, four defensive passes, five losing tackles and seven QB strikes. He’s on his way to his career highs in all those stats except sacks (and defensive passes, because these are already their highest levels) with six matches left.

His influence goes beyond the penalty area, too. The man is a regular striker, which is exactly what the Patriots have greatly valued over the past 20 years. There was always someone in the middle blocking the holes or blocking the midfielder, and there was no such thing this year.

The Patriots have taken damage from left and right, whether it’s by running or thanks to QBs having plenty of time in the pocket to browse through all of their readings. Tomlinson would be an instant influencer, and Belichick would have an easier time falling asleep at night if he starts a nose job every Sunday.