Well, this was an interesting way to start camp ... the Patriots gave nose tackle Davon Godchaux an extension.
Patriots’ DT Davon Godchaux has signed a two-year, $20.8 million extension with New England that includes $17.85 million fully guaranteed at signing, per @DrewJRosenhaus and @RyanMatha, who negotiated the deal.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 27, 2022
As always, the devil will be in the details. My guess is that that fully guaranteed money is spread, largely, over this season and next season. And the third is a cuttable season.
This shouldn't really be a surprise because:
a) the Patriots had the lowest amount of cap space in the league before this ($2.4 million) and they had to do something. It's unlikely guys like Matthew Judon or Hunter Henry would be willing to push off free agency another year for similar money to what they're making. Godchaux's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, plays ball with the Patriots a lot.
b) they left themselves with no other options at NT this year and likely next year when they passed on drafting even a developmental mid-round nose tackle. Josh McDaniels and the Raiders may have taken their guy, LSU's Neil Farrell, one spot in front of them in the fourth round. The Ravens took UConn's Travis Jones ahead of them in the third round. Whatever the reason, the Patriots passed on a nose tackle, one draft next year is unlikely to make an instant impact, so locking up Godchaux for another season makes sense. By not drafting a player, the Patriots would have been screwed if Godchaux flew the coop in the offseason. They'd be left with nothing if that happened. That's why we advocated drafting a NT this year, just to give them options.
c) Godchaux wasn't bad last year, and perhaps they have a belief he will be better in Year 2. The problem with hoping for a huge Year 2 bump from Godchaux, as opposed to the other free agents signed last year, is that Godchaux had previously been in this system in Miami. There was no adjustment period or year for him.
Looking back on my stats, Godchaux was right in the middle of the up/down season totals: he was the first and third up one time each. He was the first down 1.5 times, and the third down once.
And when it came to his plus/minus ratings, he was about average — a plus-.71 over 17 games. Basically, he averaged about one plus play more than negative per game. That's about average — every other regular on the defense, even Deatrich Wise and Josh Uche, were better.
And his first Buffalo game was tremendous, and we compared it to one of Vince Wilfork's best at the time.
But his first season was very inconsistent:
But Godchaux, 6-3 and 310 pounds, did not get off to a good start with the Patriots. He was one of the primary reasons why the defense got off to a slow start in the first six games of the season and he was basically demoted as a result.
After averaging 23 snaps at nose tackle in the first six games, Godchaux averaged 15 over the next four games. But give the LSU product credit, he didn't pout or get selfish. He kept grinding and earning more playing time through his work in practice and the games. In games 11-13, Godchaux was back to 21.3 snaps per game on the interior.
That all built to a crescendo in Monday night's hard-earned victory over the Buffalo Bills when Godchaux dominated to the tune of 10 total tackles and six solo tackles. Both led the team. Godchaux had eight impactful plays overall, including four solo stuffed runs.
At the end of the day, I think this was more about the spot the Patriots are currently at the position — Carl Davis is really the only other nose tackle on the roster — by virtue of the draft decision (this is a spot they never used to put themselves in but now do it all the time), and the need for some cap relief, more than it was any statement on Godchaux the player to this point.