New England Patriots: Preston Brown believes he can help the defense
By Nick Ziegler
As a free agent, linebacker Preston Brown of the Buffalo Bills believes that he can help the New England Patriots.
This offseason, one of the needs for the New England Patriots is at the linebacker position. Last season, the Patriots were somewhat weak at linebacker, as the injury to Dont’a Hightower clearly hurt the team in multiple ways.
Recently, David Harris decided to hang up the cleats, leaving the Patriots with even more of a need at the position. Whether it be in the NFL Draft or in free agency, the Patriots are likely going to add at least one linebacker into the fold.
One player that thinks he can help the Patriots is linebacker, Preston Brown. For the past four seasons, Brown has been with the Buffalo Bills, as he was drafted by them in the 3rd round a few years ago.
Now, Brown is a free agent, and he believes he could be a big help for the Patriots next season.
"“I think I can definitely help the young guys they have there now,” Brown told the Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe. “They’ve got some good young talent at linebacker. They run pretty well. I know [David] Harris retired. A lot of young guys were playing well, [Kyle] Van Noy and [Elandon] Roberts played well.”"
According to Pro Football Focus, Brown had a very good season for the Bills last season. He received a 71.6 overall grade, which ranked him as the 41st best linebacker in the NFL last season.
One of the appealing things about Brown is that he is good against both the run and the pass. Brown earned grades over 70 in both of those categories from PFF, and that type of versatility would be welcomed by the Patriots.
With Hightower expected to be back and healthy next season, adding a linebacker could free him up to rush the passer more. Since that is a need for New England as well, adding a linebacker makes a lot of sense if they want to move Hightower into more a pass rusher role.
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The Patriots have frequently been taking players from the Bills over the past few seasons, as they have most notable added Chris Hogan, Mike Gillislee, and Stephon Gilmore the past few years. We will have to wait and see, but Brown could be another former Bill to join the Patriots.