Super-agent Drew Rosenhaus, who had five clients and counting sign with the Patriots this offseason, described Belichick as \u201chungry\u201d during free-agent negotiations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Belichick\u2019s hunger saw him bring in Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith, Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne, and Trent Brown (trade) while re-signing center David Andrews in the last ten days.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As a result, New England\u2019s moves offensively and potential moves at quarterback on the horizon have the league buzzing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Although offense is exciting, we shouldn\u2019t sleep on the revamped defense either. With one of the greatest defensive minds in NFL history at the helm, it has elite-level talent and potential.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Last season, the Patriots\u2019 biggest issue defensively was stopping the run (32nd in DVOA), mainly setting the edge against the run where the Pats surrendered 5.02 yards per rush on outside rushes in 2020 (28th in NFL).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Recent draft picks such as Chase Winovich, Josh Uche, and Anfernee Jennings either didn\u2019t grasp things quickly enough or didn\u2019t have the body types to develop as stout edge-setters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Similarly, veteran John Simon was one of the worst edge defenders in football a year ago, and the Patriots set out to completely re-work their defensive line after a disappointing season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n New England decided to keep Deatrich Wise and rebuild the line with new pieces around Wise, and although their offer was nearly identical to Miami’s, Adam Butler chose the Dolphins over the Patriots.<\/span><\/p>\n The Patriots also had a terrible time defending the pass between the numbers, ranking 30th by surrendering 9.4 yards per play-action pass attempt during their 7-9 campaign last season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Belichick recognized his teams\u2019 needs on defense were as pressing as the holes they needed to fill on offense, doling out $115 million in total value contracts to defensive players this week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With all that spending, here\u2019s a look at the Patriots\u2019 projected Week 1 regulars versus where things stood in their last competitive game in Week 15, 2020 (before playoff elimination):\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n New England will have at least six new primary contributors, five in the front seven. Their much-improved linebacking corps features newcomer Matt Judon paired with the returns of Dont\u2019a Hightower (opt-out) and Kyle Van Noy, which gives the Patriots the stout edges and second-level run defenders they missed dearly during the 2020 season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Along the defensive line, Henry Anderson and Davon Godchaux are in while Adam Butler and possibly Lawrence Guy are out. Will they hold up better against the run? That\u2019s the expectation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n New England\u2019s front-seven is significantly better than it was last season. Plus, the team remains optimistic that Uche and Winovich (if not traded) will contribute as primary sub-rushers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Patriots gave themselves a chance to go from 26th in total DVOA to back in the upper-tier as they were in 2019 when they led the league in the metric with their new additions.<\/span><\/p>\n Now it\u2019s up to Belichick and his coaching staff to figure out the best combinations on the field.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s get into some of your questions. Thanks to everyone that asked a question. There were tons of them this week. If I didn\u2019t answer your question, check out our Patriots Press Pass<\/a> channel on YouTube, where we do videos on a bunch of more topics. Mailbag time:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What do you expect winos role to be and how best to utilize his talents?<\/p>\n — Dave (@ChefdDds89) March 18, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Screen-Shot-2021-03-19-at-3.05.55-PM-500x332.png\")
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