Patriots: 6 surprise players of 2015
1. Jabaal Sheard
Although he missed three games midseason due to an ankle injury, Sheard had his best season as a pro in his debut season as a Patriot. As a reward for his efforts, Sheard will play in his first postseason game when the Patriots take the field on January 16th.
As Bill Belichick described earlier this season, the addition of Sheard to the roster took some pressure off Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones at the edge rusher spots.
"When we signed Jabaal, we kind of thought that it would be kind of put us in a three-for-two position at defensive end. Rob and Chandler, when they, well two years ago they played almost every snap. They were both in the high 90-percent range. Then Chandler missed a few games last year and then came back and again played almost every snap once he came back and was a big factor for us. It’€™s just hard to count on guys at that position to be as durable overall as Rob and Chandler had been, particularly this year and two years ago. So, kind of having that three-for-two with those players, we felt like would give us good depth on defense."
Sheard’s stat line reads eight sacks (tied for 22nd in the league) and four forced fumbles (tied for second in the league with nine other players). Without a doubt, the signing of Sheard by personnel director Nick Caserio was one of the most prudent moves of the 2015 free agency period.
Next: AFC Power Rankings: End of regular season edition
Go Pats.