DRAFT 2021: WHICH POSITION DO PATS TACKLE IN FIRST ROUND
The Patriots have an obvious need at quarterback, and a few other roster spots that will require attention in the upcoming NFL Draft.
So which position should they address in the first round?
If the top quarterbacks are gone by the Pats’ initial pick at No. 15 — and the team failed to trade up for one — there will still be several quality prospects available.
Perhaps Bill Belichick will land one of the best cornerbacks, be it Alabama’s Patrick Surtain II, or South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn. Both could be future No. 1 corners in the Patriots defense, especially with Stephon Gilmore in the final year of his deal.
It’s also in the realm that one of the premier receiving talents from a great class might drop; such as Alabama’s Jaylen Waddle, or Minnesota’s Rashod Batemon. Waddle has elite speed, while Batemon is an outside threat with great hands. Though the Patriots added two wideouts in free agency, they could still use another game-breaker.
Linebacker might also be in the mix, with Penn State’s Micah Parsons the choice on several prominent mock drafts. He’d fit well in the Patriots defense. And, he might eventually take over for Dont’a Hightower as the leader of the front seven.
Which non-quarterback direction should the Patriots go at No. 15?
The Herald’s Patriot beat writers debate.
CALLAHAN:
I’ll answer this question with another question: of all the positions listed above, which is the most important? Cornerback.
As Gilmore’s proven, an elite corner can shut down an entire half of the field or a No. 1 wideout for an entire game. You can double wide receivers or pass-rushers to nullify their impact. You can’t unstick from a lockdown man-to-man corner. That’s the ceiling for Surtain Jr. and Horn.
Jonathan Jones is the Pats’ only reliable corner under contract for 2021. That can’t continue. By drafting a Pro Bowl talent, the Patriots can pad their depth this season and land a premium starter for the future.
GUREGIAN:
For a defense to succeed, it also needs dynamic players in the front seven. And, especially in this offense driven league, it needs players with speed who can perform multiple roles. If there was a knock on the Patriots defense last season, its linebacking corps was especially slow. Between moving laterally to take down running backs, or dropping into coverage, the backers always seemed a step behind.
So I’m going with linebacker. Specifically, an off-the-ball linebacker is another good choice especially with Dont’a Hightower in the final year of his deal, and newly signed Raekwon McMillan only on a one-year pact.
Penn State’s Micah Parsons, for one, is the best linebacker prospect Pro Football Focus has ever graded. Tulsa’s Zaven Collins is another who would be a perfect fit in Bill Belichick’s defense. And, to quote you, by drafting a Pro Bowl talent, the Patriots can pad their depth this season and land a premium starter for the future.
CALLAHAN:
Well, don’t forget about Matt Judon. Or Josh Uche. Or Anfernee Jennings. Or Kyle Van Noy. All three can play the edge and inside and are under contract through 2022. Uche flashed star potential as a rookie.
The Pats also offset their slow linebacking corps by playing safeties at the second level, a la Patrick Chung and Adrian Phillips. Six of the seven Pats defenders who took the most snaps last year were defensive backs. In 2019, six of the top nine were DBs, with Gilmore and Devin McCourty leading the way.
In a passing league, you need coverage defenders first. That’s why Belichick drafted Kyle Dugger last year, Joejuan Williams in 2019 and another cornerback in the second round in 2018. Because the latter two busted out, it’s time to take Surtain Jr. or Horn.
GUREGIAN:
Bill Belichick had to use six or seven defensive backs, because his linebacking corps was awful.
Coverage also involves having linebackers take on running backs or tight ends. Plus, the Patriots were largely run over last year because they had too many defensive backs in linebacker roles. Not being able to stop the run was the biggest problem for the defense last year.
Yes, they’ll be better with the free agents added at linebacker, but this is about sustained success and drafting impact players for the defense.
Yes, cornerback is one of those positions, but so is linebacker. If you watched the Super Bowl, or Tampa’s ride to the Super Bowl, it wasn’t a cornerback who led that defense to shutting down the Saints, Packers and Chiefs. It was a linebacker. Devin White was all over the field making plays. Penn State’s Parsons has the talent to be the same kind of player.
CALLAHAN:
Your reasoning for the 2020 snap counts doesn’t explain 2019, when six of the nine Pats’ defenders with the most playing time were defensive backs. That was the year of “The Boogeymen,” the best Patriots linebacking corps of the past 10 years. And yet, all those guys saw fewer snaps than Gilmore, McCourty and others.
That year, Gilmore also won Defensive Player of the Year! Because no defender is more impactful than a shutdown corner in the modern NFL, a pass-first, pass-second and third league. The Pats have young linebackers in Uche, Jennings, and Chase Winovich, plus Van Noy and Judon are in the middle of their primes.
What sustained success will there be at corner if the team doesn’t replace Gilmore and J.C. Jackson, whom they’ve been hesitant to commit to? Surtain Jr. is an elite prospect at a more premium position. Easy call.
GUREGIAN:
Where’s the sustained success without a successor for Hightower? Again, another easy call. The defense fell apart last season without him leading, being the quarterback of the front seven, and making clutch plays that win games. They need that type of linebacker as much — if not more — as they need another cornerback for the future.
Whether it’s Parsons or Collins, they need the next Hightower. He’s 31, playing in the final year of his deal. Basically the same as Gilmore.
Judon is good, but he’s not going to take command of the defense like Hightower does. Hightower is an extension of Belichick on the field. He makes the adjustments depending on what he sees from the quarterback and the offense. That’s vital to the success of the defense.
So while cornerback might be the most important on a defense, don’t diminish the impact of a great inside linebacker, who has the versatility to also move around the defense, and provide plays inside, outside, not to mention rushing the passer.
CALLAHAN:
Cornerback is the most important defensive position in the modern game, and the only other spot that could be argued instead is safety because it’s a pass-first, three-down position. Again, inside linebacker has become a diminished spot in Belichick’s defense because safeties have been playing there and back deep for three seasons. The Patriots have Hightower, Judon, Van Noy, Uche and Jennings to play inside and outside this season, with the latter four sticking around at least for another year, plus Dugger and Adrian Phillips available inside.
Surtain Jr. or Horn are elite prospects without character concerns — unlike Parsons — who would fill an immediate need and long-term hole in the roster. You can’t go wrong drafting the best players at the most important positions, and that’s what the Pats should do at No. 15.
GUREGIAN:
It might have been easier to go with receiver, and see if the Patriots would finally get one right from that position in the first round. But the draft is so loaded with top prospects at the position, the Patriots might get lucky and land one later on. That’s not likely to happen with linebacker. After the top tier, Parsons in particular, there isn’t much depth. So either they pounce at No. 15, or not at all. The corner position also has more depth for landing a top prospect beyond the first round.
And, linebackers, especially ones that can stop the run, pass rush and also cover, have not been diminished. If anything, their role has been enhanced. While the Ja’Whaun Bentley’s of the world have lost status, not true for the Hightower types. Once again, watch the Super Bowl, and see how much Tampa’s Devin White impacted that game, as well as others. End of argument.