Much like the offensive side of the ball, the Patriots defense is going to look a lot different in 2021.
On top of adding defensive tackles Henry Anderson and Davon Godchaux, New England added pass rusher Matthew Judon on Monday, as well as cornerback Jalen Mills. A few days later, it brought back Kyle Van Noy following the outside linebacker spending one season in Miami, and then a day later the news came that Patrick Chung would be retiring.
Starting with that, it’s likely the Patriots knew this would be happening as that explains why Mills was brought in. The former Eagles defensive back played cornerback before switching to safety last season when he lined up all over the field. While the two aren’t the same player by any means, he has some similarities to Chung.
In addition, the Patriots also have Adrian Phillips and Kyle Dugger on the roster who really play similarly to Chung. Because of all this, the defense will be fine without him, just like it was last year when Phillips had a major impact and Dugger showed promise as a rookie.
Expect Mills’ role to depend on who the Patriots are playing each week, while Phillips and Dugger will do what they did last year.
As for the investment in pass rushers, it clearly was a weakness last season when the Patriots finished 27th in the NFL in sacks. That will change this year instantly with Judon and Van Noy. Judon has 15.5 combined sacks the last two years, while Van Noy has 12.5 the last two seasons.
It also means younger pass rushers like Chase Winovich and Josh Uche may not be asked to play as big of roles before those two additions. This should be viewed as a good thing for these players as they won’t be overwhelmed and the Patriots can now put them in positions to succeed.
The weakest position for the defense last year was definitely linebacker and it was going to be better with Dont’a Hightower’s return, but now it’s taken to an even better level with Judon and Van Noy coming aboard.
While the majority of the attention was focused on the offense this season, the defense needed to be improved and over the last week that has been accomplished.
