Analysis: Veteran DE Clayborn brings speed, strength to Patriots' pass rush

So what sort of player is Adrian Clayborn?

The Patriots addressed a serious issue of need with the free-agent addition of the veteran defensive end Friday, an edge presence with has 30 career sacks in seven seasons in the NFL. On the surface, the pairing certainly makes sense: After losing Rob Ninkovich, Jabaal Sheard and Chris Long last offseason, the Patriots struggled to find someone outside of Trey Flowers who could get consistent pressure on opposing passers. Clayborn is that sort of individual: a 29-year-old who has spent seven seasons in the league (four with the Bucs, three with the Falcons). Last year, Pro Football Focus graded Clayborn as the 19th best edge rusher (85.5) in the NFL. By way of comparison, PFF had Flowers with an 87.8 grade (14th overall, but best on the Patriots) and James Harrison next at 77.6.

Questions about the move could come as it relates to scheme. He comes from a system where he played a pure 4-3 defensive end, and based on what we saw last year, tends to line up super wide outside of the left tackle (part of which was scheme-based), and almost exclusively as the right defensive end, where Flowers has played most of his snaps for the Patriots. That raises questions about a potential fit as an edge defender in New England: Can Clayborn make the transition to the other side? Can the Patriots make a few tweaks to their system to play to his strengths? Is there any positional flexibility there?

One point in his favor is the fact that he’s worked as a defensive tackle in the past — in 2015 he rotated between defensive tackle and defensive end before appearing to move to end full time in 2016, so there’s some positional versatility. Another point in his favor is that Clayborn spent time in Tampa with Greg Schiano, who is a longtime Bill Belichick consigliere. I have a hard time imagining the Patriots don’t go after Clayborn without a phone call to Schiano to figure out whether or not he could play in New England’s system.


He’s also occasionally struggled to stay healthy, as he suffered a knee injury in 2012 and a bicep issue in 2014. He told reporters that he contemplated retirement prior to the start of the 2017 season because he was “tired of being hurt.”

But if he does stay healthy, the bottom line is that Clayborn’s signing addresses a real need. He’s a defensive linemen in the Dan Quinn-Atlanta mold, which is to say that he’s got better-than-average speed and strength — he’s capable of beating a tackle around the edge or ducking inside. He plays fast, which is good and bad -- sometimes, he's caught out of position, but still has the speed to make up for some of those mistakes. Overall, he averaged 52 percent of the snaps in Atlanta’s system the past three years, and last year, PFF had him with 55 total pressures. Even when you subtract the 12 from his six-sack game against Dallas, he still averaged almost three per game.

Basically, you’re not going to see him have to hold up much against the run. That’s not to say he can’t hold up there. It’s just that it’s not his strength. Pass rushing is. Ultimately, he’s a relatively sturdy presence who figures to be something of a situational presence in the New England system, providing depth for the likes of Flowers, Deatrich Wise and (perhaps, if he ends up re-signing) Harrison. Last year’s third-round pick, defensive end Derek Rivers, will likely be part of that conversation as well.

Going back and looking at his body of work from last year (he’s No. 99 coming off the right end most of the time), his best game of the season — and maybe the finest of his career — was that six-sack performance against the Cowboys where he terrorized a pair of backup Dallas tackles all game long, a contest where he set the Falcons single-season franchise record for most sacks in a game. Here are three of them, all of which showcase his skill set, including his speed, his ability to straight-up bull rush, as well as his smarts when it comes to fooling young offensive linemen.







But there’s more than just the Dallas game. On this one against the Lions, he artfully executes a nice flip with fellow defensive lineman Grady Jarrett, coming up the middle to get pressure on Detroit’s Matthew Stafford.



He’s clearly got the pass rush bonafides, borne out of speed and strength. On this play, he picks up Carolina’s Matt Kalil and simply drives him back into Cam Newton, delivering a nice pressure on the Panthers’ quarterback.



A few plays later, his pressure while ducking inside gets Carolina guard Andrew Norwell — the same guy who just signed a mammoth free-agent deal — flagged for holding.



This one probably will be frowned upon in Foxborough, as he rushes past Aaron Rodgers and loses containment, opening a big hole. He showed a nice relentlessness to rebound and almost bring him down, but letting that real estate open up is not what they’re looking for.



A few plays later, however, he executes perfectly. As the defensive end, he doesn’t fall for the play-fake from Rodgers. Instead, he stays home, and forces the quarterback into a less-than-ideal throw.



In the end, if all works according to plan, Clayborn (who will turn 30 in July) will be the latest in a long line of veteran defensive linemen/pass rushers acquired by Belichick near the end of their careers. It's a group over the last decade-plus that's included Andre Carter, Chris Long, Derrick Burgess, Shaun Ellis, Albert Haynesworth and Tommy Kelly. Sometimes, it works (Carter, Long), and sometimes, it doesn't (Ellis, Haynesworth). Based on what we saw from him last season, from this viewpoint, Clayborn has a better shot at landing in the first group instead of the second.