The void is gaping, at least statistically.
Kyle Van Noy, now with the Chargers, and Dont'a Hightower, currently in retirement or free agency depending on what you believe, combined to play 1,444 snaps on defense last year. A substantial chunk of those were in the guts of the front seven, smack-dab in the firing line.
Who will step in?
There was no major offseason move to assuage the pain of the losses.
Mack Wilson, a former fifth-round pick of the Browns, was the headliner. After that, Bill Belichick is relying on his draft.
Cam McGrone, a 2021 fifth-round pick, and Raekwon McMillan, a second-rounder for the Dolphins in 2017 playing on his third team, are the other candidates. Each of them missed 2021 with ACL injuries.
The good news? This team won’t be a traditional 3-4 team with two inside backers – never again. That's ancient history. Bill and Steve Belichick, along with Jerod Mayo, need to find one stout guy to play downhill and challenge running backs.
Safeties Adrian Phillips and Kyle Dugger spend plenty of time in the box. The Patriots will fill the rest of the spots, inside and out, with the most athletic – and healthy – guys they can find.
But that one run-stuffing, stay-at-home is an anchor, something the Patriots had for a long time with vintage Hightower and Mayo before him.
While he might be the best of the heap on paper, Ja’Whaun Bentley isn’t, or at least hasn’t, been that guy.
We head to deep into the stretch of our training camp positional previews today with the inside linebackers. All that still remains are the defensive backs.
1. Ja’Whaun Bentley
Buy his stock: He’s the man, for better or worse, until someone knocks him off the top of the hill. He’s been through wars with 16 starts a year ago and 109 tackles, playing 74 percent of the snaps.
Sell, sell, sell: At 6-foot-2, 255 pounds, Bentley simply hasn’t been stout enough. He often picks the incorrect hole against the run. He was a key part of a defense that allowed an unhealthy 4.6 yards per try a year ago.
Longo says: Now 25 and headed to his fifth season, we’ve seen enough of Bentley to know he’s not a high-caliber answer. He gets deserved props for his work ethic and desire, but there are certain limitations that are tough to overlook.
2. Mack Wilson
Buy his stock: As a rookie out of Alabama, Wilson had a strong rookie season with 57 solo tackles in 16 games played (14 starts).
Sell, sell, sell: Unfortunately, 2019 was the last time Wilson trended upward. His playing time diminished over the past two years with the Browns, and they were happy to take fellow underachiever Chase Winovich for him this past offseason.
Longo says: He’s not a lottery ticket, but you can see the logic from Belichick. Find a kid with physical ability that didn’t match his current system, then take a shot.
3. Cam McGrone
Buy his stock: He’s a wild card for sure. Being away from the game for so long, especially with the injury coming on the college field, make him an interesting piece of clay looking to be molded.
Sell, sell, sell: Does this football team, in need of playmakers on defense, have the time and resources to dedicate on readying McGrone for battle in the pros?
Longo says: Obviously, the injury hurt his draft stock, but McGrone was a tackling machine in the middle of the field for Michigan. He’s worth the shot.
4. Raekwon McMillan
Buy his stock: Belichick took some time last August to heap praise on McMillan at camp in 2021. It may have been a typical sell job, but that’s kind of rare from the coach.
Sell, sell, sell: You’re asking a lot for a guy whose best season came as a rookie in Miami and is coming off a missed season. He then went in as filler in a deal between Miami and the Raiders, who sent their fourth-rounder to South Beach for McMillan and a fifth in 2021.
Longo says: He’ll be in the mix for playing time if he can stay on the field. Hopefully, that’s not a commentary on the current linebacker contingent and has more to do with McMillan's emergence.
5. Jahlani Tavai
Buy his stock: A second-round pick of Matt Patricia’s Lions in 2019, he made 10 starts for Detroit in 2020.
Sell, sell, sell: Unfortunately, he was cut out of training camp in Detroit in 2021, just two years into his pro career, by the Dan Campbell regime.
Longo says: Tavai played a bit after being signed here, basically out of necessity. He gets a full camp with New England to try and live up to his potential.
6. Harvey Langi
Buy his stock: He’s a great attitude guy, who earns everything he gets. He’s an athlete willing to do whatever it takes to be on the roster.
Sell, sell, sell: In seven games last year, he played just 16 defensive snaps.
Longo says: Potentially, the best story on this training camp roster. His comeback to the NFL from that brutal car wreck is inspiring. His road on to this team, though, is to excel in the kicking game.