For the second straight year in 2021, the New England Patriots’ defense struggled … at the worst times possible.
Down the stretch, the Patriots were steamrolled by the Colts, outgunned by the Dolphins and twice-baked by the Bills, the latter a humbling playoff loss in which New England never forced a punt.
The heat is on again, with AFC offenses everywhere collecting assets in some crazed offseason rush. And it starts up front.
As teams morph into situational sets, fewer linebackers and more defensive backs in the box to cope with run-and-gun offenses – see Adrian Phillips and Kyle Dugger here in Foxborough – the need for defensive linemen, inside, to hold up blockers and win at the point of attack becomes huge.
For a while in 2021, it looked like New England had solved the issues that were ugly through 2020.
Reliable vet Lawrence Guy had returned to form. And rookie Christian Barmore had visions of a young Richard Seymour dancing in Patriots fans’ heads.
Barmore, who played fewer than 50 percent (49.3) of the Patriots' defensive snaps in December and January, may have hit the rookie wall late, and Jonathan Taylor stole this defense’s will and mojo in a 170-yard day.
The front has to take another – season-lasting – step forward this season to occupy blockers longer and take heat off the linebackers/edge/safeties.
With that said and our offensive positional previews now complete, we switch to the defensive side of the ball and begin with the interior lineman. Still to come with be edge guys, inside linebackers and defensive backs.
1. Christian Barmore
Buy his stock: The team is basically all-in here on the 2021 second-rounder out of Alabama. They see great things from him. He’s a pocket-pusher who changes the line of scrimmage.
Sell, sell, sell: Can he sustain? Playing half the downs does not make you a star in the NFL. Needs to make a jump.
Longo says: Not ready to send him to the Hall of Fame yet, sorry. Still, he flashed. He’s the Belichick kind of interior lineman, two-gaps and owns the line. Doesn’t guess, doesn’t cheat. This franchise is counting on him to blossom.
2. Lawrence Guy
Buy his stock: Hard to find fault with the 32-year-old, who has spent the past few years here squeezing every ounce of talent he can out of his body.
Sell, sell, sell: Remembering his age, think about the fact that in a year that the Patriots tossed around huge contracts (2021), Guy extended on a four-year, $11 million deal with only $3 million guaranteed.
Longo says: The contract was no huge vote of confidence. If the young guys in this group raise their game, it would be easy to see the team looking to phase Guy out.
3. Henry Anderson
Buy his stock: Seasoned, experienced and rather large, Anderson is the kind of veteran that succeeds in this situation. The goal for him would be, at age 30, for him to be Lawrence Guy 2.0.
Sell, sell, sell: Torn pectoral in 2021 has to hoist a red flag or two.
Longo says: If Anderson can stay on the field, he’s an asset up front – and more than just a depth piece.
4. Davon Godchaux
Buy his stock: He showed up every week in 2021 and tried to earn his money in the first year of a two-year, $15 million contract. Posted 32 solo tackles and 33 assists, so production was there. And he played the highest percentage of defensive snaps 59.2 of all linemen, inside and out.
Sell, sell, sell: Four career sacks in five pro seasons. He is making real money for slightly higher than journeyman production.
Longo says: Reliability works for Belichick, and the second year in Steve Belichick’s defensive system has to help him this season.
5. Daniel Ekuale
Buy his stock: You don’t spend three years, with three different teams, bouncing between the practice squad and regular roster, if there aren’t some tools in the bag. The 6-foot-3, 305-pounder out of Washington State has some serious physical ability, but it remains unharnessed.
Sell, sell, sell: Produced a pair of sacks in seven games a year ago, but has not been able to maintain. At best, he’s been a stop-gap measure.
Longo says: Ekuale will certainly be a player to watch in August to see if he can be a bona fide NFL player, and not just a project.
6. Carl Davis Jr.
Buy his stock: His durability in 2021, despite the fact that he only played one-quarter of the time, earns Davis an important distinction when it comes to the group fighting for reserve spots on this roster.
Sell, sell, sell: Seventeen games played in 2021 was his career high and it dwarfed the total games played for him in the previous three seasons combined (15). Also, his one sack last year was a career-high for the 30-year-old.
Longo says: At some point in a guy’s career – and Davis was a third-round pick of the Ravens in 2015 – a player is what he is. And Davis is a fringe guy in an average defense.
7. Byron Cowart
Buy his stock: After basically a redshirt year in 2019, the fifth-round pick enjoyed a strong 2020, starting 14 games.
Sell, sell, sell: Injury forced him out of 2021, and health is certainly an issue.
Longo says: Seeing regular time on a defense that was weak up front in 2020 is not exactly a ringing endorsement. Still, you have to root for the guy as he battles on against his body.
8. Sam Roberts
Buy his stock: Roberts’ modus operandi is that he is an overachiever. He takes that rep and puts it to the test, beginning today as rookies report to camp.
Sell, sell, sell: The leap from Division 2 to the NFL is the toughest in the trenches.
Longo says: Yeah, the Division 2 guy out of Northwest Missouri State is a bit of a stretch. But Belichick saw something to want to expend a sixth-round pick on him.
9. LaBryan Ray
Buy his stock: Bill Belichick takes a shot with a player who struggled to stay on the field due to injuries at Alabama.
Sell, sell, sell: Missed a ton of time in college. Can he stay on the field here?
Longo says: Plays the Belichick way, two-gaps, fights off blocks, and you know he’s a lunch-pail kind of inside guy.
10. Bill Murray
Buy his stock: Undersized guy at 265 pounds, he’s spent two seasons on the practice squad.
Sell, sell, sell: Physically, he fights the uphill climb.
Longo says: He’s done enough to earn a paycheck and continue to learn in the Belichick system. Will battle to do it again this summer.