Lazar: Belichick Stole a Game-Wrecker on the D-Line in Rookie Christian Barmore

The Patriots found their quarterback by dipping into the Alabama pipeline, but Mac Jones isn’t the only former Crimson Tide standout having a successful rookie season in Foxboro.

On day two of the 2021 NFL Draft, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick traded three draft picks to move up from the 46th overall selection to the 38th pick in the second round (trade: 46th overall, 122nd overall, and 139th overall to the Bengals for the 38th overall pick).

Belichick felt comfortable giving up a significant haul to climb the board for Alabama defensive lineman Christian Barmore, who many pundits felt would be a first-round pick in April’s draft.

At the time, the Patriots’ decision-makers were elated that Barmore fell to them in the second round, and they’re similarly thrilled with his progress.

In Sunday’s victory over the Chargers, Barmore led all Patriots defensive linemen in snaps (38), and, for a Pats rookie, Barmore is impressively playing 54.8% of the defensive snaps this season.

“He’s improved in every area. He works really hard, and he’s got a really good skill set,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said of Barmore. “He’s big. He’s long. He’s got good playing strength and good quickness. Runs well. He gives good effort. He’s made some good chase plays from behind. He’s earned his way up there, and he’s done a good job in all situations.”

New England targeted Barmore in the draft to bolster their pass rush immediately while possessing the playing strength to develop as a run defender.

Over his last two seasons at Alabama, Barmore’s 65 quarterback pressures led the FBS, and his pass-rush talent was instantly apparent in training camp where he dominated one-on-one drills.

In his first eight regular-season games, Barmore’s 12.6 pass-rush win rate leads all rookie interior defensive linemen, and his 22 quarterback pressures are fifth among all rookies.

Based on his role in the defense, it’s easy to see how highly Belichick and his staff think of the first-year defensive tackle because they’re scheming-up one-on-ones for Barmore already.

Here, the Patriots use a simulated pressure with four rushing threats standing over the left side of the offensive line. With the Pats threatening to bring pressure, the Chargers slide their protection to the left to account for the potential blitzers, leaving Barmore and Matt Judon one-on-one on the right side. Barmore beats the right guard with an inside move, forcing Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert to leave the pocket and throw the ball away on third down.

A few weeks earlier, New England got Barmore isolated on the center for a one-on-one pass rush by threatening a five-man rush to occupy all five offensive linemen. Barmore beats the blocker with a punch-rip move and draws a hold on veteran center Justin Britt.

Barmore also sees his fair share of double-teams due to the Patriots’ line stunts, where he’ll rush as the penetrator to free up a teammate to wrap around and pressure the QB.

Barmore registered a half-sack by splitting two blockers on a stunt with Matt Judon and forcing Justin Herbert to step up in the pocket. Herbert tries to get away from Barmore, but Judon wraps around to collapse the pocket.

Along with his pass-rushing talent, Barmore’s run-stopping abilities are also flashing in his rookie season. Although he needs to be more consistent still, his splash-plays jump off the tape.

The Alabama product has eight run-stops on just 84 snaps against the run this season, ranking second on the team in run-stop percentage (9.5%) behind defensive end Deatrich Wise.

In the Patriots’ blowout victory over the Jets, Barmore’s range and quickness were on full display on a fourth-down stop as well as a chase-down tackle from the backside.

For years, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been searching for a game-wrecking defensive tackle at the top of the draft, whiffing on back-to-back D-Tackles in the first round back in 2014-15 (Malcom Brown, Dominique Easley).

Although it’s early in Barmore’s career, the Patriots’ rookie is performing at the level that the team was hoping to get from Brown and Easley. In other words, Belichick finally found his guy.

With free-agent addition Matt Judon blossoming in Belichick’s scheme, the Patriots are turning an anemic defensive front a year ago into a strength of the 2021 defense.