Breaking down the linebacker options for the New England Patriots

The New England Patriots need to upgrade the interior of their defense this offseason and can do so through the NFL Draft on Thursday night.

A lot of the attention surrounding the New England Patriots this offseason has been centered on the shocking departure of Tom Brady. But what has been most overlooked throughout all of this has been the collapsing defensive unit that was just considered to be one of the best in the history of the NFL only a season ago.

Since the start of free agency, the Patriots have parted ways with five key players to their defensive unit: Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, Elandon Roberts, Danny Shelton, and Duron Harmon. They now have huge holes to fill for this upcoming season.

After the key departures of Van Noy, Collins, and Roberts, the Patriots are currently thin at the middle linebacker position, and really only have Ja’Whaun Bentley — who can ideally play in the middle next to Dont’a Hightower.

For those of you who are unaware of who Bentley is, the Patriots drafted him in the fifth round of the NFL Draft in 2018 out of Purdue. In two years with the Pats, he has only played in 19 games while starting in four of them.

So it is fair to say that the Patriots are in need of some additional pieces to solidify the middle of their defense.

It’s worth mentioning that the Pats do have a handful of versatile players on their roster who could see time at linebacker this season, even if it’s not necessarily their “true” position.

Chase Winovich showed a lot of upside during his rookie season last year and could play both defensive end and linebacker if needed. John Simon, who has been solid and reliable on the outside edge, is another option. And then there’s Shilique Calhoun, who does a great job of collapsing the opposing offensive lines.

All three of these guys can all play on the edge with their hand down or standing up, and each has proven to make some kind of an impact to the defense and special teams when on the field.

But for the most part, they aren’t really utilized for a typical three-down play series; they are used more for situational and match-up purposes.

The Patriots are in need of an additional linebacker to add to their depth and possibly try to fill the void of Van Noy and Collins, who were all over this defense last year. Out of the group of linebackers that are currently on the roster, the only two players who could ideally play in the middle alongside Hightower are going to be Bentley and Simon.

Bentley has put in the time to earn himself into that starting role, and Simon is experienced and very reminiscent of Mike Vrabel in his glory days with the Pats … thus meaning that Bill Belichick probably appreciates his style of play.

But what the Patriots need is a linebacker who can come in and be ready to go from Day 1 — similar in many ways to Jerod Mayo, who became NFL Rookie of the Year in 2008 after New England selected him in the first round of the draft that year.

There are two linebackers in the draft this year that should be available to the Pats in the first round who are analogous to Mayo in many ways: Kenneth Murray and Patrick Queen. With that in mind, I believe both of these players are capable of earning the starting spot next to Hightower next season in New England.

Murray, who played in the BIG 12, and Queen, who played in the SEC, are both highly rated and experienced linebackers coming out of the draft this season. Both players are extremely athletic and over six-feet-tall, both weigh over 230 lbs, and both ran the 40 yard dash in just 4.5 seconds at the combine.

All of their combine statistics are rather similar, their play styles are similar, and I don’t see how you can go wrong by drafting either of these guys to be the future pillars of your defense.

There is a chance that Murray or Queen could fall to the second round, but the Patriots currently do not have a second round pick, so they would need to commit to one of these players by selecting them with the 23rd overall pick.

To top it all off, and despite not going to Alabama or Rutgers, Murray and Queen are still guys that will fit into Belichick’s defensive system. Both Murray and Queen would become eventual starters for the Patriots next to Hightower and Bentley.

With that being said, it’s going to be great to see who the New England Patriots are going to make the newest member of their franchise.