Having rolled up the sleeves in pursuit of every last clip of potential draftees, to calling and texting everyone in my Rolodex (remember when that was a thing?), to sizing up what the Patriots have done to their roster, I wanted to run through some quick-hitter thoughts of where my head is at when it comes to the team.
– This interior defensive line class is lean. Like, maybe only 4 or 5 players going in the top 100. Considering the revival of the run game and a number of teams (headlined by the Rams) embracing 13 personnel, it would make a ton of sense for teams to invest important resources into the defensive tackle/nose guard position. Heck, they did last year. There were 5 DLs taken in round one, and 12 in the first 100 picks. The year before, 2 first-rounders and 11 overall. You get the gist. But without those projectable types (for a variety of reasons I’ll get into when I take a deeper dive into the DTs), I wouldn’t expect the same level of investment or immediate results. I believe it’s partly why the Pats were disappointed they missed out on Khyiris Tonga (that’s on them for misreading the market), and it’s no doubt influencing the decision to ride it out with Christian Barmore, despite having a window to move on this offseason. I would also add that the team did a good job identifying not just Tonga in free agency last year, but Cory Durden and, to a significantly lesser degree, Eric Gregory and Leonard Taylor. That’s why I don’t think they’ll ignore the position, but it’s not a top priority either.
– Mike Vrabel said what he had to say about the wide receiver room. He’s not going to publicly declare they need more there and ding that group’s ego or weaken the Pats’ leverage when it comes to AJ Brown. I firmly believe they could operate at a high level if they added one more body via the draft – assuming Drake Maye’s continued growth – but the interest in Brown goes beyond the familial relationship between the player and the head coach. The Pats know they need to be more explosive in the passing game, especially against better defenses like the ones they saw running the postseason gauntlet. Maye and the rest of the offense saw a dropoff in production, struggling mightily vs man coverage. They’d like an equalizer, although again, they have been wisely unwilling to meet Eagles GM Howie Roseman’s demands. We’ll see if either side blinks, or another team that doesn’t like how their draft turns out jumps in.
– I wonder if the Pats will double dip at the
