Patriots Named 'Best Fit' For Rival Star in Free Agency
By Cem Yolbulan
It is a new era in New England and the Patriots desperately want to start their rebuild right. They already changed key decision-makers, brought in a new head coach, and will look to have a good offseason to set them up for success in the long run. This includes nailing their draft picks and making smart acquisitions in free agency.
They are in a good financial situation to do so. New England has the second-most cap space heading into the offseason, with an effective cap space of over $60 million, according to Over the Cap.
New England Patriots "Best Fit" for Elite Defender Christian Wilkins
The Patriots have plenty of holes up and down the roster that they will use cap space to address. One of these is the defensive line. According to ESPN's Matt Bowen, there is an interior defender on an AFC East rival who is the perfect fit for the Patriots.
Christian Wilkins of the Miami Dolphins is arguably the best defensive lineman on the market not named Chris Jones. Bowen says the "best fit" for Wilkins is the Patriots because of his "versatility to align all over the defensive front".
Wilkins, who was the first-round pick for the Miami Dolphins in the 2019 NFL Draft, just had the best season of his career. Setting career highs in every pass-rushing category, Wilkins had nine sacks, 35 pressures, and 23 QB hits.
Bringing the 28-year-old defender would not only create an excellent duo in the interior alongside Christian Barmore, but it would also weaken a division rival, who inexplicably didn't offer Wilkins an extension last offseason.
How the Patriots choose to use their cap space remains to be seen. But there will undoubtedly be plenty of new faces in Foxboro, including the No. 3 overall pick. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Jayden Daniels (+160) is the frontrunner to be the Patriots' pick there. Don't forget to claim your sign-up bonus of $150 if you want to make a wager for New England's draft selection.
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