Who will step up at defensive end for the Patriots?
When Chris Long departed for the Philadelphia Eagles and Jabaal Sheard left for the Indianapolis Colts in the offseason, the Patriots knew they would have to find more edge rushers. They traded for Carolina Panthers defensive end Kony Ealy, and used two of their four draft picks on defensive ends, selecting Derek Rivers from Youngstown State in the third round and Deatrich Wise in the fourth round out of Arkansas.
It appeared that the trio would have time to adjust to the defending Super Bowl champions while playing behind Rob Ninkovich and Trey Flowers, but after Ninkovich retired in the first week of training camp, there has been a greater sense of urgency to see if the newcomers are ready to step in. If they aren’t, the Patriots may look to make a trade before the regular season, or pluck another team’s castoff.
Here’s a look at the edge rushers in camp.
Trey Flowers
Drafted in the fourth round by the Patriots in 2015, he was active for only one game his rookie season, but flourished in 2016 with 45 tackles and 7 sacks in the regular season. He recorded 2½ sacks in Super Bowl LI and appears to be a lock as a starter, as he was dominant in the joint practices with the Jacksonville Jaguars this week. He’s only 23 (he turns 24 next week) but he’s now the longest-tenured Patriots defensive end.
Kony Ealy and Trey Flowers walked over to the fans at the end of practice to sign autographs.
Kony Ealy
Ealy was considered a low-risk acquisition. He had a breakout performance in Super Bowl 50 with three sacks, an interception, and a forced fumble. His former coach, Ron Rivera, believes that the best days are ahead for the 25-year-old. Jim McBride looked at how Ealy was used with the Panthers to get a sense of how he could fit in with the Patriots. However, Ealy has had a disappointing training camp thus far. He was held out of the first practice for an undisclosed reason, and struggled in joint practices with the Jaguars.
Geneo Grissom
Taken just ahead of Flowers in the third round of the 2015 draft out of Oklahoma, Grissom has not been as successful in the NFL. Through two seasons, he has just 11 tackles and one sack. He was getting most of the practice reps early in camp at left defensive end, Ninkovich’s old position, and looked smooth and athletic while rushing the passer or dropping off into coverage, according to Ben Volin. This could be his last chance to crack the lineup after the veteran departures this offseason.
Geneo Grissom’s lone sack in the NFL came against Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Deatrich Wise
The rookie has impressed early on and is earning first-team reps over Rivers and Grissom, writes Brad Almquist. Listed at 6-5, 271, Wise needs to take advantage of his size. Said coach Bill Belichick, “[His length is] a big advantage for him, if he can play with good pad level and use his length, not have it used against him, which I’d say he’s been able to do as a football player through his career in college and so forth. Even in a few days here, we’ve seen examples of that, but we’ll see more of that going forward.’’
Derek Rivers
Rivers has not performed as well as Wise to this point, but was productive in college. A three-year starter, he holds the career sack record at Youngstown State with 41. He recorded 15 sacks and 19½ tackles for a loss in his senior season alone, but may need time to adjust to the NFL, particularly after playing at a smaller college program.
Harvey Langi
The undrafted free agent has impressed thus far, earning reps with the first-team. He displayed the versatility that is essential for rookies trying to find a spot on the Patriots roster while in college at BYU, where he played defensive end, linebacker, and fullback. Rachel G. Bowers has more on Langi as part of her look at four undrafted rookies who have stood out at training camp.
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