The New England Patriots are in a strong spot entering Week 7.
With the Buffalo Bills' loss on Monday Night Football, the Patriots moved to first in the AFC East at 4-2. Their next two opponents, the Tennessee Titans and the Cleveland Browns, are a combined 2-10.
With the team on such an astronomical rise, adding further support should be a no-brainer. For New England, the main areas of need come on offense, specifically at running back and wide receiver. Defensively, the team has been solid, but could use another pass rusher and depth in the defensive backfield.
The latter of those defensive holes might be more of an offseason fix, but the former could be remedied very quickly. MassLive's Karen Guregian even suggests this weekend's matchup could feature the pass rusher New England's depth chart desperately needs.
The New England Patriots could solidify their defensive front by trading for Titans edge Arden Key
The Patriots rank 18th in the league in sacks per game at 2.2, with the bulk of their pressure coming from the interior, specifically through defensive tackles Milton Williams and Christian Barmore.
Harold Landry III has been a welcome addition on the edge, while K'Lavon Chaisson has also been a nice speed rusher. The edge group also includes 2023 second-rounder Keion White, Alabama alum Anfernee Jennings, and Cal Poly rookie Elijah Ponder.
While a passable group, adding to the cache of pass rushers could be beneficial for the Patriots.
Guregian suggested in a recent article that Titans edge Arden Key, who's set to face New England on Sunday, could be a future Patriot. She also mentioned Dolphins' duo Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips, but it's unlikely Miami would want to deal with an AFC East opponent.
Key, 29, spent his college days with the LSU Tigers, recording 21 sacks in three seasons. In 2016, he had a career-best 12 sacks. His NFL career began with the Raiders after being selected in the third round in 2018. He had three sacks in three years there, but had 25 sacks in his 73 games with other organizations (49ers, Jaguars, and Titans).
Through six games, Key has a 60.9 overall PFF grade and 1.5 sacks. While he isn't an elite QB hunter, he'd likely be at a similar level as Chaisson, who's been strong in run support and is a sound athlete. It wouldn't take much to get him: perhaps a conditional seventh-round pick? The LSU-inspired packages the Patriots could utilize with Williams and Barmore on the interior would be fun.
Key will have an opportunity to flash this Sunday, especially with second-round pick Femi Oladejo out for the Titans on the edge. Assuming Vrabel takes care of business against his former team, the Titans may opt to put the "for sale" sign up in the front yard.
Sunday might not be the last time Patriots fans see Key.