New England Patriots 2021 defensive line playbook: Who stays, who goes

New England Patriots: Who stays, who goes – Deatrich Wise, Defensive end.

Deatrich Wise, Jr. is a hybrid defensive tackle/end with decent statistics, 45 total tackles or so, and 2.5 sacks.

Like Adam Butler, Wise is a decent back-up level defensive lineman. Nothing more. Nothing less. That situation is the defining characteristic of the New England Patriots defensive line, they’re decent but nothing special.

Now, few teams can have standout players at every position in on any unit. Just not happening in the current NFL. But many if not most, will have at least one or maybe two players who are more than just another guy-type player.

No defensive standouts for the New England Patriots

The problem with New England’s defensive line is that there is no player there who is a standout. Guy comes closest to a really good player, but no one else is even close.

Wise is another of those players who is just a decent, average, certainly NFL-level player but he’s not going to evolve into a star or close.

The Patriots have to move on from this level player if they are to emerge once again as a premier NFL team. Deatrich Wise is OK maybe, as a back-up, like Butler, but if you aspire to again rise to the highest echelons of the NFL you need better in your starting players. If you are metaphorically hitching your horse to a player at this level of ability you are going to be disappointed.

The imperative for the New England Patriots is to get better, as their coach Bill Belichick is wont to say. And that means better at every positional unit before they can aspire to again compete in the AFC East.

Wise goes.