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Patriots: Who will lead the team in sacks this season?

By Patrick Morgan

FOXBOROUGH, MA - JANUARY 13: Deatrich Wise, Jr. #91 of the New England Patriots reacts during the fourth quarter in the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium on January 13, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MA - JANUARY 13: Deatrich Wise, Jr. #91 of the New England Patriots reacts during the fourth quarter in the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium on January 13, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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On the defensive side of the ball, there are a number of intriguing candidates who could lead the New England Patriots in sacks this season.

The 2018 Patriots were clearly a resounding success story.

Despite finishing with an 11-5 overall record – mediocre by their own impossible standards – the team rode the combination of a punishing run game and a disciplined defense all the way to victory in Super Bowl 53.

Because of that victory, no one will remember the team’s suboptimal performance against lesser teams like the Jaguars, Lions, and Titans. No one will care that quarterback Tom Brady statistically wasn’t quite as sharp as he was the year before (when he won league MVP). No one is lamenting that the Pats as a team finished with the second-fewest sacks in the league.

All anyone cares about is the number ‘six’ – as in the number of Lombardi Trophies now on display at One Patriot Place.

Still, if the team hopes to contend for a record-breaking seventh NFL title this season, they’ll need to shore up a few glaring areas of weakness. And while the defense has a whole played lights-out against the Rams in Atlanta last February, the lack of a consistent pass rush from the New England front seven last year is absolutely something that needs to be addressed this year.

Of the 30 sacks the Patriots recorded in 2018, 7.5 of them came courtesy of defensive end Trey Flowers… who now plays for the Detroit Lions. The sack leader for the Pats back in 2017? Flowers again, with 6.5. What about 2016? Guess who: Trey Flowers once more, this time with 7 on the nose.

21 sacks over three seasons is nothing to sniff at, and it’s the main reason why New Englanders were understandably a bit apprehensive when they saw Flowers depart in free agency for a big payday in the Motor City. Realistically, the Pats weren’t going to be able to afford to keep him anyway, but it’s still a debilitating blow for a team to lose its best pass-rusher… especially when its pass rush as a whole was pretty paltry to begin with.

If the team hopes to overcome the loss of Flowers – and more importantly, vie for a seventh championship and that rare NFL repeat – here are the most logical candidates who could step up to the plate in 2019:

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