New England Patriots: Ranking team’s top 5 defenders pre-training camp

The New England Patriots are suddenly deep on the defensive side of the football.  Here is a top 5 list of the team’s best defenders pre-training camp.

Watching the New England Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII brought many fans back to the teams in 2001, 2003 and 2004 that won with a defense first mentality.

With a lack of wide receiver depth due to the suspension of Josh Gordon at the end of the 2018 NFL season and a less dominant Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots had to morph into a power running team with more dependence on their defense.

That dependence on the defense will linger into the 2019 season as the defensive side of the ball is definitely the team’s strength on paper.  With 2018 defensive play caller Brian Flores now serving as head coach down in Miami, Bill Belichick will call the play.

With a nice mix of veterans and younger talented players, it will be interesting to see how the defensive genius schemes it up.  One thing we know is that the New England Patriots defense will not really show its hand until about midseason.

But it all begins in training camp where Belichick sees what he has, and which players can do what in different situations.  While some unexpected players will emerge, there are some reliable defenders who will be a part of the mix.  Here are the top 5 Patriots defensive players pre-training.