While much of the attention during the Patriots' offseason, for good reason, has been focused on the quarterback position after Tom Brady, the hardest-hit position was actually linebacker.
Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins and Elandon Roberts — three mainstays at stand-up linebacker for the Patriots in recent years — are playing elsewhere. Van Noy ended up making his biggest impact on the edge in 2019, but when injuries hit in 2018, Van Noy was the first one tabbed to play off the ball and he did very well. There really wasn't a position he couldn't play, so he very much should be included in that group.
The Patriots' depth chart of experienced at off-the-ball linebacker after that exodus? You could host them in a phone booth:
Dont'a Hightower
Ja'Whaun Bentley
That's really it. Beyond that, the Patriots have some special teams-focused linebackers — Brandon King (a former safety coming off injury), Terez Hall and sixth-round pick Cassh Maluia — and there's high hopes Scoota Harris, a priority undrafted free agent, can provide immediate depth.
But Hightower and Bentley are being counted on heavily.
Hightower needs no introduction. When healthy, he's spectacular and can fill any role needed against that week's opponent — middle linebacker, weakside, strong side and pass rusher. He was noticeably trimmed down last year in camp, and the difference was huge.
A year after basically hobbling around the field with injuries and struggling in pass coverage, Hightower looked strong for most of the 2019 campaign and was voted to the Pro Bowl. We gave Hightower a B for being a good NFL starter (top 10 to 15 at his position) and a minus because he's trending downward slightly — he was one of those on defense who was not as impactful late as earlier in the season and because of his age/mileage:
Dont’a Hightower (71.3%): Enjoyed one of his healthiest seasons to date as he started to take his off-field work just as seriously as the on-field stuff. Was third on the team with 19.5 pressures and was very good against the run. Was voted to the Pro Bowl as he regained the playmaking he showed from 2014-16. But he’s going to be 30 soon and you wonder how much more mileage he has left with high-level play. Grade: B-minus.
Hightower will be strong this season in whatever role the Patriots need him in, especially in a contract season with his last chance at a big contract coming this offseason.
But what about Bentley? Bill Belichick loves to build his defense from the inside out, so the third-year linebacker seems set to have a major role this season.
Is he ready?
Bentley was a breath of fresh air in the summer of 2018 after he was a fifth-round pick out Purdue. The rookie got off to a slow start in the practices, but he leaped off the screen in the exhibition games:
Outside of two plays, fifth-round pick Ja’Whaun Bentley showed more in one game than he did in 11 camp practices. The two plays: I think he was supposed to have FB Elijah Wellman, who slid away from Wise for 11-yard reception late in the first quarter; and Bentley showed some of his limited athletic ability on Colt McCoy’s scramble with 10:57 left in the second quarter where Bentley was slow to react/anticipate and then couldn’t get off the block of the running back. Other than that, Bentley was lights out. Had him for a team-leading seven impactful plays, including a forced fumble that was ruled down. Probably the most encouraging thing was he had two excellent pass tackles — Bentley was thought to be mostly a two-down backer, but he showed mostly good wheels in this game. He also had an excellent play on the goal line on the first play after the secondary debacle with 4:55 left in the first half. This will likely kickoff a competition for the starting Mike spot with Elandon Roberts, who was solid in this game.
A competition did ensue and Bentley won it, earning a starting role off that preseason. While there bumps in the first three games, there was a lot of promise before a torn pectoral muscle ended his season.
So after that injury and entering 2019, there were high hopes that Bentley would pick up where he left off as a rookie and ascend to a starting — or at least major — role. That didn't happen. Bentley only played more than 25 snaps in a game three times all season, and his only start against the Bills in October was largely a disaster as he was responsible for many of the big run plays in that game.
Sure, the Patriots had largely better options at linebacker who stayed healthy, but your playing time is reflective of where the coaches think you are as a player — if you're a weapon, they're going to find you playing time. That Bentley played just 27.3 percent of the defensive snaps spoke volumes of where he was in his second season:
Ja’Whaun Bentley (27.3%): After coming out like gangbusters as a rookie, Bentley didn’t stand out in any way, really, in his second season, his first back from an upper-body injury. Seemed slower and not as strong. Will need to take a big leap this offseason. Grade: D.
After surprising with speed and playmaking ability as a rookie, Bentley looked a step slower and not as impactful in Year 2.
That was fine with Hightower, Collins, Van Noy and Roberts around last year. That will not be OK this season. The Patriots need him to hit quickly in this camp. If Bentley can nail down the starting Mike spot, that will allow them to use Hightower at his most dangerous — as a Swiss Army Knife depending on that week's game plan.
If Bentley does not get off to a fast start, expect a competition to rage between Bentley and Harris, who received the largest guarantee on his contract among undrafted free agents. Or, Hightower could just be moved to the middle. But that would weaken the scheme as a whole because Hightower's role would be limited.
Bentley told reporters in June that he's ready for the new challenges and has learned a lot to this point.
"I would say, obviously, knowledge – knowledge of the game and being able to kind of be on the field and direct traffic a little bit more coming from college to the pros," Bentley said. "You surround yourself with great veterans, which we have in our organization, so it was a huge opportunity to learn from those guys and kind of implement what you’ve learned and add it to your game. So, I feel like year one to year two, took some good steps, but Year 3, you also want to take those same progressive steps and take your game to the next level."
The Patriots are largely counting on that.
PATRIOTS TRIM ROSTER TO 80
The new CBA during the pandemic gave teams the chance to either go with 90 players in two groups, or one big group of 80. The Patriots elected to go with the latter as they released 10 players this weekend:
CB Lenzy Pipkins
S Malik Gant
S Adarius Pickett
WR Will Hastings
WR Sean Riley
WR Isaiah Zuber
QB Brian Lewerke
QB J'Mar Smith
LB Kyahva Tezino
DL Courtney Wallace
Gant, Hastings, Zuber and Smith were not on my list. I had WR Jeff Thomas, TE Rashod Berry, WR Devin Ross and WR Quincy Adeboyejo released instead.
I read this as blocking TE (Berry) being a priority, and it's good news for the talented but troubled Thomas — they want to see his talent and whether or not he can stick.