New England Patriots: If Healthy, They Won’t Be Stopped

On the defensive side of the ball, they are loaded at every level. Chandler Jones was traded to Arizona, but they brought in Chris Long to help ease the pain of his departure. Rob Ninkovich and Jabaal Sheard will likely start on the outside, but having someone like Long that can rotate in will really help them in the long-run.

There was also quite a bit of turnover at defensive tackle this offseason for New England, as they lost Dominique Easley and Akiem Hicks. But, they will return starters Malcom Brown and Alan Branch, and they added Terrance Knighton and rookie Vincent Valentine. Brown and Branch were excellent last year for the Pats, particularly against the run. Knighton and Valentine will only help in that facet of the game, and more importantly, they can all give each other rest so no one gets too tired at any point in the season.

At linebacker, the Pats have two of the three best in the game in Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins. The fact that neither of them made the NFL ‘Top 100’ list is just a flat out joke. Hightower is terrific against the run, and is also a great leader for this unit.

Early in his career he was also a liability in pass coverage, and while he still isn’t great, he has worked very hard to bring that part of his game up. As for Collins, there isn’t anything this dude can’t do. He is an absolute freak of an athlete, which allows him to play the run, rush the quarterback, play coverage and get matched up 1-on-1 against some of the best athletes in the game.

Next: The Secondary