New England Patriots

The Patriots need a boost on the edge. Here are 10 NFL Draft prospects who could provide that.

Bill Belichick’s defense is lacking a dynamic player who can wreak havoc on the edge.

A.J. Epenesa at the NFL combine in February. Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images

By Aidan Curran

8 minutes to read

COMMENTARY

In a league dominated today by pass-happy offenses, having players on your team that can rush the passer is key. That’s why it makes sense for the Patriots to consider adding to the position in this week’s NFL Draft.

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New England has bodies on the edge, but lacks some real juice in its current stable of pass rushers. As things stand now, Chase Winovich and John Simon are the likely Week 1 starters at the EDGE defender positions for the Patriots. While that isn’t a terrible duo from a pass-rushing standpoint, Bill Belichick’s defense is lacking a dynamic player who can wreak havoc on the edge, and the position  could use more athleticism and speed overall as the team moves into the 2020 season.

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Here are some players who may be able to help.

K’Lavon Chaisson, LSU

Height/weight:

6-feet-3-inches, 254 pounds

The consensus No. 2 EDGE player in this year’s draft, after Chase Young, Chaisson is every bit as athletic and explosive as Young is, making him a valuable player in the middle of the first round. New England would almost certainly need to trade up for him, but Bill Belichick has traded up for defensive players he covets in the past, and Chaisson would provide some needed juice on the edge for New England.

Named a captain as a sophomore at LSU, Chaisson has great bend in his hips, and his speed in turning the corner against tackles is elite. His ability to convert speed to power in the blink of an eye helps him win against tackles both large and small, and he has a great motor to complement his natural ability.

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Having missed most of the 2018 season with a torn left ACL, Chaisson does come with some injury concerns, but played well in 2019 and showed no signs of ill effects from the injury. If he can add some more muscle to his long frame, and develop his pass-rushing skill set more, he can be an elite player in the future.

A.J. Epenesa, Iowa

Height/weight:

6-feet-5-inches, 275 pounds

Epenesa is a technically-sound player who wins often by out-muscling his blockers with heavy hands and overwhelming power. A devastating bull rusher off the edge, Epenesa is skilled at crossing his blocker’s face and setting up an inside rush lane by attacking hard off the outside initially.

With his combination of speed and strength, Epenesa has inside/outside rush versatility that will be attractive to a team like New England. He’s a smart player who defends the run well, and sets the edge with a physical tone consistently.

Epenesa lacks the sudden burst and lateral movement that prospects like Young and Chaisson have, but his length and heavy hands make him a productive pass rusher and someone you can count on to defend the run too.

What may hold him back from becoming a Patriot is his combine numbers, which do not resemble those of many EDGE players that New England has selected in the draft in the past. While Epenesa has drawn comparisons to former Patriot Trey Flowers, he doesn’t meet any of the Patriots’ combine testing criteria, besides height, weight, and length, as illustrated in this chart by NESN’s Doug Kyed.

Yetur Gross-Matos, Penn State

Height/weight:

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6-feet-5-inches, 266 pounds

A long and flexible athlete who has impressive bend and can turn the corner in the blink of an eye, Gross-Matos’s natural athleticism gives him a high ceiling as he continues to fill out his long frame. He’s a relentless ball pursuer who has the footwork and length to win with speed or power at the next level.

Gross-Matos has experience rushing from a variety of alignments at Penn State, and has shown the ability to set a firm edge in the run game. Against the pass, Gross-Matos’s ease of movement allows him to drop into coverage fluidly and play from different depths.

With his range and athleticism, Gross-Matos has a ton of potential as he continues to develop physically. With some concerns about maturity, having been suspended in the 2019 offseason for a violation of team rules, Gross-Matos should be available for New England at pick No. 23.

Josh Uche, Michigan

Height/weight:

6-feet-1-inch, 245 pounds

A tweener for his position, Uche is very athletic and is able to drop into coverage off the line with ease thanks to his smaller frame and athleticism. Uche spent his first years at Michigan as a backup, but exploded onto the scene as a senior, starting nine games and finishing with 8.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for a loss, earning him a second team All-Big Ten nod. Uche followed up his senior season with an impressive week at the Senior Bowl, putting him on the radar of many NFL teams.

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A quick-twitch athlete, Uche is a high-effort player who has elite bend around the edge. With his speed and bend combination, he can put blockers back on their heels quickly, and his closing speed is impressive. With his change of direction and ability to react quickly to plays, Uche has off-ball versatility at the next level, something he will need to get comfortable with, due to his lack of size relative other EDGE players.

With his lack of size and functional strength, Uche’s rushes can die out against bigger blockers, whose blocks he tends to struggle to disengage from. Uche’s arsenal of pass rush moves is rather bland, and needs seasoning for him to succeed in the NFL.

Something else that could be a cause for concern is the fact that Uche only played 657 snaps during his career. Part of that was due to injuries (torn meniscus in 2016; stress fracture in foot in 2017; strained hamstring at Senior Bowl), but it’s fair to question why it took him until his senior year to break out at Michigan.

Terrell Lewis, Alabama

Height/weight:

6-foot-5, 262 pounds

A player who has been connected to the Patriots during the pre-draft process already, Lewis is an athletic specimen, with a 37-inch vertical (82nd percentile amongst EDGE defenders) and a 124-inch broad jump (88th percentile). His pressure rate of 19.8 percent last year was third amongst edge rushers with at least 100 pass rushing snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

https://twitter.com/AlabamaDieHards/status/1193300350360535041

Lewis is a raw player still due to a lack of pass rushing moves and a need to get stronger in his lower half, but his natural explosiveness and length are tempting traits, and his ability to stand up and drop into coverage is promising. If he can develop some counter pass rush moves, and get stronger in his lower half, Lewis could become an impact EDGE defender if he can stay healthy.

Anfernee Jennings, Alabama

Height/weight:

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6-foot-2, 256 pounds

A smart player who relies on his quick instincts to time his pass rush and is adept at finding the football, Jennings doesn’t quite have the frame you want in an EDGE defender, but looks to be filling out still, and has a lot of promise.

Jennings played the edge mostly at Alabama, but at 6-foot-2, may be best playing off-ball in the NFL. However, he lacks the lateral agility and quickness that is required of most off-ball linebackers in today’s NFL.

Jennings is a physical player who sets a hard edge against the run, and plays with a lot of power. With his lack of a defined position in the NFL, and questions about his ability to play in space, Jennings is similar to what Kyle Van Noy was coming out of BYU, a physical player with a high IQ and knack for making plays, but clear limitations to his game.

Jennings could be a solid find for the Patriots in the later rounds, and could help fill the role vacated by Van Noy’s departure.

Julian Okwara, Notre Dame

Height/weight:

6-foot-4, 252 pounds

An athletic EDGE defender who gets upfield in a hurry due to his quick-twitch athleticism, Okwara’s length and power would bring a new dynamic to New England’s pass rushing corps. His active and sudden handwork helps him convert speed to power, but there is still room for improvement technique-wise, suggesting a high ceiling for the London native.

With his struggles in setting the edge, lack of a complete pass rushing skill set, and need to get stronger overall, Okwara will be a developmental prospect to begin his career. But his athleticism and power, coupled with a hot motor, make him an intriguing prospect on Day 2 of the draft. A season-ending broken leg injury sustained in 2019 will be one question for teams to answer before they decide on drafting him or not.

Jon Greenard, Florida

Height/weight:

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6-foot-3, 263 pounds

With physical hands and quick feet, Greenard is a dominant run defender and has a knack for finding the football no matter how much traffic is in his way. He led the SEC in tackles for loss in 2019 despite missing time with an ankle injury, and had an excellent run stop grade of 87.7 according to PFF.

Greenard’s game is limited, as he struggles rushing the passer and lacks experience dropping into coverage. He dealt with several ankle injuries as a senior, and also missed the 2018 season with a right wrist injury.

His relentless pursuit of the ball and stout performance against the run could help him develop into a rotational EDGE defender in the NFL, if he can learn to use his hands better in defeating blocks and also show he can stay on the field consistently.

Darrell Taylor, Tennessee

Height/weight:

6-feet-3-inches, 267 pounds

Taylor is a freaky athlete with tremendous bend and explosiveness, to complement a jacked frame with long arms and big mitts. His natural athleticism also makes him a candidate to drop back in coverage at times as well.

Taylor is just an unmolded ball of clay waiting to be shaped by somebody. That somebody could be Bill Belichick. Taylor doesn’t know how to use his hands to win matchups against offensive linemen, and lacks a plan in how to attack blockers with his limited array of pass rush moves. He has all he needs to be successful in the NFL, but now needs to learn how to use his natural gifts to become a more complete and nuanced player at the next level.

Casey Toohill, Stanford

Height/weight:

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6-feet-4-inches, 247 pounds

Toohill won’t show up on many mock drafts or big boards, but his eye-popping athleticism makes him an interesting prospect to consider on Day 3 of the draft. Toohill was tied with projected top-5 pick Isaiah Simmons for the top linebacker athleticism score according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, and has spoken to more than 20 teams since his performance at the draft combine.

Toohill ran a 4.62 40-yard dash at the combine, and hit 39 inches on his vertical. In addition to those test results, he also measured in with 33.5 inch arms and 9.5 inch hands. To go along with his physical traits, Toohill is also an intelligent player, finishing in 2019 as a finalist for the “Academic Heisman” of college football, the Campbell Trophy.

An All-Pac 12 player after a breakout senior season, Toohill lacks the size right now to contribute much on defense, but has solid potential as a core special teamer thanks to his elite athleticism. As if Bill Belichick needed any more reason to draft Toohill, the speedy linebacker also has blocked two extra point attempts in his career at Stanford.

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