Although the New England Patriots need to upgrade their offense and have been working on a potential deal for Tom Brady, the defense needs some attention too, especially the linebacker group.
The New England Patriots have a lot of retooling to do in regards to their team, as the Patriots have a plethora of free agents and are already battling against the cap.
As much as the Patriots need to upgrade their offense and work out a deal with Tom Brady, they’re also positioned to lose some key defensive players this offseason.
After getting a deal done that will keep Devin McCourty in New England until he retires, along with his brother Jason, the Patriots are on the verge of losing two very integral players to their defense in Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins during free agency. Van Noy has put together an impressive resume for himself since being in New England, and he is next in line to cash in to earn a large payday.
It’s important to mention that along with Van Noy and Collins, Elandon Roberts and Shilique Calhoun are also going to be entering free agency.
That leaves only Ja’whaun Bentley to suit up next to Dont’a Hightower in the linebacker position. With that being considered, who should the Patriots look to target in the draft and in free agency to upgrade their linebacker group?
Free Agency
Blake Martinez was drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers and has quickly progressed into being a top linebacker in the league. Martinez is extremely versatile and has totaled at least 144 tackles in each of the last three seasons with the Packers.
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While he has been under the radar this offseason in regards to the abundance of free agents, Martinez- 6’2, 240 lbs – would fit well in the Patriots defense next to Hightower.
Now, most free agents are interested in getting a long-term deal done, especially when you’re testing the market for the first time in your career at 26 years old like Martinez is.
The Patriots aren’t really in a position to make any long term commitments at the moment, but what the Pats can do with a guy like Martinez is offer him a short-term deal worth his market value and with the commitment of winning their seventh Super Bowl.
Considering the way business is handled in today’s NFL where the player has the potential to earn more money each year, a short-term deal with a championship contending team like the Patriots could prove to be both ideal and appealing for a player like Martinez.
Per Spotrac, the market value for Martinez is $ 11.6 million per year.
NFL Draft
Remember, the Patriots do not have a second-round pick in the draft this year (they traded it away last season for Mohamed Sanu). But the Pats are holding 12 total draft picks, three of which are in the third round, and four picks that are in the top 100.
Since the Patriots are notorious for finding talent in the middle of the draft, who could the team draft to help bolster their linebacker group?
Given the current state of the league and the need for quarterbacks, it seems like teams are going to be targeting quarterbacks early on, which will leave a ton of talented positional players still on the board for later rounds and that works perfectly in Bill Belichick’s favor. Malik Harrison is a player that could be available in the third round for the Patriots.
At 6’3”, 247 lbs, Harrison is the biggest and arguably the strongest linebacker out of the top 15 players in his position class. While at Ohio State, Harrison made a strong impact on the Big Ten during his four seasons, including a total of 81 tackles (8.5 for loss) as a junior and 75 tackles (16.5 for loss) his senior year.
Harrison’s draft stock has been overlooked only due to being teammates with Chase Young, who is a top draft choice in this year’s draft. Harrison is incredibly lateral for a linebacker and performs great form and open-field tackling.
There is nobody that he can’t tackle and if Harrison wraps you up, you’re not going anywhere. He is very reminiscent of Jerod Mayo and we all know how much that ended up working out for the New England Patriots.
In regards to the draft, the New England Patriots are in a great position to upgrade their team and obtain the necessary pieces they need to successfully move forward with their franchise. This draft is deep and there will be a ton of talent available during the mid-rounds of this year’s draft.