4 New England Patriots defensive players who will wreak havoc in 2022

4. Bringing the heat off the edge, New England Patriots LB Josh Uche finally breaks through

There will be more pressure on Matthew Judon to bring the pressure in 2022, but the due in the red sleeves will need someone else to emerge to make his presence on defense even more important.  That’s where third-year linebacker Josh Uche comes into play.

With fellow third-year edge rusher Anfernee Jennings also showing improvement, Uche will have some competition for playing time.  After showing flashes of dominance in this first two seasons, this is the season the Patriots need this ultra-fast and powerful linebacker to be that dude coming off the edge opposite Judon.

Health is obviously the key when it comes to Uche, but the talent is there and so is his commitment.  Along with that, the Patriots defense is depending on him to make some noise in 2022.  Back in May, defensive assistant coach Steve Belichick called Uche the “blueprint” of what they want to be on defense.

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"“I see him as part of the…blueprint,” the younger Belichick said, via NBC Sports Boston.  “I see him being an important piece to the puzzle for us going forward.  There’s a lot of factors to it besides what he’s going to do. …I see Josh being a big part of this defense.  We’ll see how the competition plays out.  Josh is another guy who’s doing everything right, who’s putting a lot of hard work in, setting up as well as he could to help us out on the field once we get to camp.  It’s all just a building process.  He’s done everything right so far.”"

And so far, Uche has done everything he needs to do to set himself up to do some great things in 2022 which will include at least doubling his career total of 4 sacks.

Is greatness in the forecast in Year 3?  If that talent and commitment merges with experience, New England Patriots fans are going to see a star shine in Foxborough as will the rest of the NFL.