2017 Patriots position-by-position review: Flowers, Brown powered New England front

With the Patriots’ 2017 season done, we’re going to take a look back at the team by position, and provide a few thoughts as to what the future might hold at that spot moving forward. To this point, we’ve covered quarterback, tight end, running back, wide receiver and the offensive line. Now, we start on defense with the defensive line.


2017 depth chart (regular-season stats via Pro Football Reference): Alan Branch (12 tackles), Malcom Brown (29 tackles, 2.5 sacks), Ricky Jean-Francois (six tackles), Adam Butler (11 tackles, two sacks), Trey Flowers (45 tackles, 6.5 sacks), Deatrich Wise (16 tackles, five sacks), Eric Lee (10 tackles, 3.5 sacks), Lawrence Guy (34 tackles, one sack) and Geneo Grissom. Derek Rivers and Vincent Valentine ended the year on injured reserve, while Keionta Davis spent the season on the Non-Football Injury/Reserve list.

Contract status: Branch (signed through 2018), Brown (signed through 2019), Jean-Francois (free agent), Butler (signed through 2019), Flowers (signed through 2018), Wise (signed through 2020), Lee (signed through 2018), Guy (signed through 2020), Grissom (signed through 2018), Rivers (signed through 2020), Valentine (signed through 2019), Davis (signed through 2019).

Overview: Because of the injuries and lack of depth at linebacker, this group went above and beyond at times, getting a boost from some unexpected individuals like rookies Butler and Wise, a former Buffalo practice squadder in Lee and a mid-year veteran pickup in Jean-Francois. None of them re-invented the position, but by the end of the season, the whole of that group was greater than the sum of the parts. The three guys who really stood out from an individual perspective? Brown really dominated at times down the stretch, and could be poised to become one of the better young space-eating defensive tackles in the league. Guy was a bit of a revelation, a veteran the Patriots thought so much of they paid him a bonus at the end of the season even when they weren’t contractually obligated to do so. And Flowers was their best and most consistent defensive lineman, leading the team in sacks for the second straight season and holding up well at the point of attack against the run.



Best Moment: The AFC title game. Brown consistently channeled a young Vince Wilfork with a whopping six run stuffs, Flowers was overwhelming at times (three hits and 4.5 quarterback pressures, per Greg), and everyone pretty much maintained gap discipline against the Jaguars, particularly in the second half. Part of it was because Jacksonville started playing not to lose instead of playing to win down the stretch, but Brown was really impressive from start to finish in this one, dominating up front.

Here are our three favorite plays from Brown, who was over the nose for almost the entire game. None of them are overly sexy plays, but honestly, they are all examples of a defensive tackle being able to hold up at the point of attack or shed a blocker and create a disruptive play. In all three situations, he was facing Jags' center Brandon Linder.

The first play came in the first quarter, where he was able to shed Linder and stop Leonard Fournette for a one-yard gain.



The second play was more of the same, as he was able to make a mess of the Jacksonville defensive front and help bring down Fournette after a one-yard gain.



The third came in the third quarter, and was another example of him dominating Linder. The play was a two-yard gain for Fournette.



I understand none of this is going to get people cranked up like a mess of sacks, but Brown's work against Linder and Fournette (who had 1.2 yards per carry less against the Patriots than he did the week before against the Steelers) played a sizable role in allowing the Patriots to win the game.

Worst Moment: There wasn’t a whole lot of “awful” for the defensive line this year, but the worst game from start to finish for the group was likely the opener against the Chiefs. I understand now that it takes a month or so for the defense to round into form, but the front was really pushed around badly by the Kansas City offensive line, especially in the Chiefs’ 21-point fourth quarter. It wasn’t the only reason, but it wasn’t completely coincidental that the subpar play of the defensive line led to a season-high 185 rushing yards and 6.9 yards per carry (tied for second-highest on the season) allowed in that loss.

By the numbers: Per Pro Football Focus, Flowers finished the regular season with 59 total pressures, which were tied for the 12th most among 4-3 defensive ends in the league. Furthermore, Flowers led all 4-3 defensive ends in the NFL with 18 hits on the quarterback (this does not include sacks).

Also according to PFF, Brown finished the regular season with 27 run stops and just one missed tackle on 244 snaps defending the run. As a result, he made a stop on 11.1 percent of his run snaps, tied for sixth-best among defensive tackles

A few thoughts about the position: In Flowers, Brown, Guy, Wise and Butler, the Patriots have a really good base of talent along the defensive line. Now, they need to figure out how to augment that group with more depth. The Patriots will likely rid themselves of Branch, who was a non-factor for much of the year and was eventually supplanted on the depth chart by Jean-Francois. I have to imagine that Jean-Francois has earned himself another one-year deal if he wants to come back, although his future could be tied to Valentine. If the Nebraska product is back to 100 percent, he could leave Jean-Francois on the outs. Lee is a good rotational player who will be part of the mix in 2018. Finally, it’ll be interesting to see what Rivers and Davis might be able to bring. Rivers was trending in the right direction before his knee injury last summer. For a team that needs some pass rush help, he’ll be a guy worth watching this spring and summer.

Chance Patriots address this position in free agency: Good. If Branch and Jean-Francois are gone, they’ll need more dependable big bodies up front. Also, something to remember: Bill Belichick has made a yearly habit of finding veteran defensive linemen and trying to squeeze one more year out of them before they call it a career. Greg listed a few possibilities here, including Julius Peppers and Connor Barwin.

Chance Patriots address this position in the draft: Good, with the understanding they’re going to look for a very specific type; either a big two-gapper of a defensive tackle or a longer, leaner pass rusher who can also set the edge.