Patriots Load Up On Versatile Defenders in 2015 NFL Draft
Linebackers who can play defensive end. Defensive ends who can play linebacker or defensive tackle. Cornerbacks who can play safety.
With one pick after another in the 2015 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots refused to make only “one pick,’’ instead making each selection count by adding players who can contribute in multiple ways for their multiple defense.
The Patriots switch back and forth seamlessly between the 3-4 and the 4-3 front. The pendulum swings from week to week, from series to series, and sometimes from play to play. In order to pull off that kind of scheme versatility, the Patriots need players that match the description.
Meet the 2015 Patriots Draft Class
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Malcom Brown (Texas), Geneo Grissom (Oklahoma), Trey Flowers (Arkansas), and Xzavier Dickson (Alabama) all project to multiple different positions in either a 3-4 or a 4-3. Brown can play nose tackle, 3-technique (between guard and tackle), or 5-technique (over the tackle).
Grissom has played more positions than anyone can remember, from outside linebacker in 3-4 and 4-3 to defensive end in 3-4 and 4-3 to defensive tackle in 4-3.
Flowers has been primarly a 4-3 defensive end, but could stand up to a 3-4 outside linebacker role at 6-foot-2 and 266 pounds.
Dickson played at Alabama, which features a very similar system to that of the Patriots.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia have opened up their playbook to mix up their pass-rush packages, rotating different defenders in for different situations to maximize the amount of disruption around the opposing quarterback.
It can be challenging to project those players to the NFL level due to the variance in their roles, the level of competition, and myriad other factors.
“We always bring them in and see what they can do,’’ Belichick said. “We haven’t had them in this program. It’s a different level of competition, it’s a different structure than any of them have been in before. We’ll see how they react to it and how they perform in our system relative to some others.’’
Make no mistake, Belichick isn’t in the war room throwing darts at his draft board. The Patriots have a vision for any player that they draft.
Once they get into the facility and begin the offseason workout program, learning the playbook, and filling different roles, that’s when those drafted begin to carve out their role and their future in the NFL.
“I think the players that we take, we have an idea of what they’ll do for our team,’’ he said. “Each guy has a specific ‘here’s what we think they’ll do.’ What he actually does or not, we can’t forecast that with 100-percent accuracy. That’s the way it is with everybody. You can draft anybody you want, but until you actually get them into your system and start working with them and see how their skills transfer to what you’re doing, I don’t think you really know until you actually start doing it.’’
Some players go their entire careers without defining a singular role. Just ask Rob Ninkovich, who has made his out of doing anything he’s asked to do, whether it’s putting his hand in the dirt to rush the passer as a 4-3 defensive end, standing up to rush the passer as a 3-4 outside linebacker, dropping into coverage, helping in run support, or any number of other ways in which he could contribute to the defense.
It’s all part of the constant shuffling of personnel that makes the Patriots’ defense unique, and an ability to do multiple things is something that the Patriots value in their defenders — as evidenced by their selections in this year’s draft.
“The [hybrid] players that we took … also bring other things to the table, whether it’s an ability to play off-the-line, or an ability to be a rusher not off the edge,’’ Belichick said. “At least they’ve done it. We’ll see how they do, I don’t know how it will turn out, but at least they’ve done some of those things. Maybe they rushed inside, played off the ball, played in coverage. I don’t think it’s just one thing.’’
That being said, if there is “one thing’’ that these players can do, it is put pressure on the quarterback. Grissom, Flowers, and Dickson each logged at least eight sacks over the past two years.
Pressure has been a point of weakness for the Patriots’ defense in recent years. The Patriots have notched more than 40 sacks only once in the past seven seasons (48 in 2013), and in that time, only four of their defenders have notched 10 sacks or more in a season.
The Patriots don’t necessarily need any of their draft picks to notch 10 sacks or more in their first year in the league. With Ninkovich, Chandler Jones, and Jabaal Sheard all in the fold, there are plenty of other edge rushers who can get after the quarterback.
The presence of those three, along with the Patriots’ multiple picks up front, is proof positive of the importance of versatility in this defense.
It’s times like these when “do your job’’ should really be “do a hundred jobs.’’
With the departures of cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner, the Patriots’ coverage unit is expected to take a step back. But adding so thoroughly to the front seven could allow their pass rush to take such a dramatic step forward that it helps keep the pass defense afloat.
The Patriots entered the 2015 NFL Draft with nine selections, and wound up taking 11 players after a pair of trades netted them additional picks. The team addressed the defense and the interior of the offensive line, shoring up some needs and adding depth where necessary.
Statistically speaking, some of these picks just won’t work out. There’s a very likely chance that one or more of these players will join the ranks of Bill Belichick’s best picks ever
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