Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your day. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.
If the Patriots have to chose between Trey Flowers and Trent Brown, they should chose Flowers.
Let me be really clear: This is not a referendum on Brown and his ability. He was the surprise of the year in 2018, and emerged as one of the best offensive tackles in the league. When it came to the first year of the post-Nate Solder Era at left tackle, the Patriots couldn’t have dreamed it would have worked out as well as it had. Brown was a stud as a blocker and by all accounts, a great teammate — a key part of a very good group. The big guy heads into free agency on a perfect note.
On Monday, Brown told Adam Schefter on his podcast he like to find a place this offseason where he “can build some longevity, somewhere that’ll be a great place and great fit schematically,” and would “love” for that place to be New England.
“But hey, we’re going to cross that bridge when we get there,” he added.
In this case, it’s more about timing and the market. The Patriots (at least in theory) have a left tackle of the future in Isaiah Wynn. They also have some other pressing financial needs, including securing the services of Flowers. And, they also have a legendary offensive line coach, someone who has earned the faith of the franchise when it comes to things like this. Basically, if there’s anyone in the league who can prep Wynn for being the next guy to protect Tom Brady’s blindside, it’s Dante Scarnecchia.
They have no such insurance policy if they lose Flowers.
Two more things to keep in mind here: One, we could know what the team thinks about both players as early as Tuesday. That’s when the franchise tag window opens for 15 days. If they tag one — maybe as a stopgap while talks continue, maybe as a way to keep them around for a full year — it could provide some insight into what will eventually happen. And two, regardless of how this all plays out, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Patriots find another offensive tackle as a mid-round candidate in the draft, a way to keep that feeder system humming.
Ultimately, maybe they don’t have to chose between one or the other. As our guy Miguel can tell you, there are plenty of ways to manipulate the cap, especially at this time of year. But at this point, it appears New England could be at the crossroads of its first major personnel question of the offseason, one that could very well set the team-building tone for the next few months.
Now, on with the links…
1. I found an amazing stat when working on the positional snapshot of the Patriots' linebackers that involves Kyle Van Noy.
2. I also broke down the state of New England's defensive line, and had another killer stat. (Really.)
3. It was another epic Monday Q&A that was chock full of some great discussion. Check the transcript here.
4. Here's the full audio of Schefter's Q&A with Brown. It's a pretty wide-ranging discussion that hits on a bunch of topics, including Brown's thoughts on Scarnecchia. Brown: "Everybody in the facility loves coach Scar. He’s definitely my favorite coach on staff — my favorite coach that I’ve had since junior college. I appreciate him more than anything. I appreciate his friendship.”
5. Our buddy Mike Reiss was on NFL Live Monday talking about the Patriots and wide receivers.
6. Mark Chichester of Pro Football Focus writes on some 2018 rookies who could be poised for a breakout 2019, and lists Ja'Whaun Bentley and J.C. Jackson as part of the group. "From Week 13 until the Super Bowl, Jackson allowed a passer rating of just 71.7 on throws into his primary coverage, while he ranked third among cornerbacks with at least 25 targets in forced incompletion percentage over that span," Chichester notes when it comes to Jackson.
7. Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report looks at what he calls the ideal draft candidates for each team. When it comes to the Patriots, he identifies South Carolina wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
8. We'll have more on this throughout the next few months, but this page is certainly worth bookmarking -- the Pro Day schedule for March and April.
9. USA Today has a list of eight teams who would be perfect trade options when it comes to Antonio Brown. The Patriots are NOT one of them.
10. Could the Patriots be the ones responsible for keeping the Giants from finding a replacement for Eli Manning this offseason? An interesting thought from our friend Matt Lombardo.
Extra Point: When it comes to this and the discussion it caused on Monday, I think both sides of this argument can technically be true. I know the Patriots have discussions with tons of teams about possible moves all the time -- phone calls get made, trade proposals are floated, and phone calls end. I'm not 100 percent certain, but this sounds like it might be one of those scenarios.
Chris Simms reports on @PFT_Live that the Giants almost traded OBJ during the season...to the Patriots ? pic.twitter.com/kzctxYwmo3
— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) February 18, 2019