1. The Patriots certainly weren’t as busy this past week as they were during the first week of free agency, but a case can be made it was more impressive. It’s easy to throw a bunch of money at the top free agents and expect them to sign, but recently it’s been about keeping their own free agents — and we’re including David Andrews in this even though he signed late in the first week of free agency. New England kept three of its team captains from a year ago — James White, Lawrence Guy and Andrews — after they had a chance to test the market and likely get more money from other teams. While they might not improve the team on the field as much as Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith and Matt Judon, they will be huge in terms of their locker room presence and keeping the culture the way that it has been for so many years. Having these players re-sign also is an indication things are trending in the right direction with the team relating to bouncing back following a 7-9 season in 2020. Andrews said it himself in his interview with Patriots.com. While there still would have been leaders in place, these three returning ensure the locker room will remain in good shape and that very well could lead to wins come the regular season. Sure, the big names have received the majority of the attention for the Patriots in free agency, but the ones who will have the biggest impact on the team overall may be flying under the radar.
2. Friday was a crazy day in terms of the NFL Draft, even though it’s five weeks away. Two trades were made in the top 10 and that is bad news for the Patriots if they had any plans of selecting a quarterback in the first round. It’s looking more and more like quarterbacks will go Nos. 1-4 overall and then the fifth quarterback seems likely to come soon after that. So, in order for the Patriots to land a QB in Round 1 they will have to trade up into the top 10 and that will cost pick No. 15 overall, next year’s first-rounder and likely even more. That doesn’t feel like something Bill Belichick would be interested in doing, especially for the fifth QB to come off the board.
3. With that being said, all these quarterbacks going so high could be good news for the Patriots in terms of getting a very talented player at another position if they stay at No. 15 overall. A few quarterbacks will be selected higher than they should, which means players at other positions will fall and the Patriots could potentially get a top-10 talent at No. 15. Positions to keep an eye on there are offensive tackle and wide receiver. Tackle certainly can be viewed as a need, especially in the next few years, and then the Patriots still need a No. 1 receiver. Obviously, their track record with receivers in the draft isn’t great, but this is rumored to be another terrific class.
4. The Patriots offense got the majority of the attention for being so poor in 2020, but the defense wasn’t much better. New England finished 15th overall, which came after being the best overall in 2019. Its front-seven was a major reason for the drop off and the Patriots did a good job of improving it over the last few weeks. It started with the reported return of Dont’a Hightower and then the additions of Judon and Kyle Van Noy. On top of that, several defensive tackles were added. So, what was a weakness in 2020 appears to be a strength in 2021.
5. It will be very interesting to see what happens with Stephon Gilmore and JC Jackson, as really all possibilities are on the table. With all the moves the Patriots made the last few weeks, Gilmore’s best option may be signing an extension with New England. It may be for less than he could get from another team, but the Patriots are in a better position to win now than others, which makes a 30-year-old Gilmore more valuable to them than a team who is still a few years away. If they extend Gilmore, there may not be enough money to also sign Jackson to an extension, which could lead to him moving on likely after this season if he plays it out on the second-round tender. Signing Gilmore to an extension and having Jackson play the year out on the second-round tender would be similar to when Gilmore was signed in 2017 and Malcolm Butler played the 2017 season on a first-round tender.
6. Relating to the AFC East, the Patriots still remain ahead of Miami and behind Buffalo for this season, but it’s worth paying attention to what Brian Flores and Co. are building. Over the next three drafts, Miami has five first-round picks and then 13 overall in the first three rounds. It has so much flexibility and the ability to add good players either via trade or the draft, which certainly makes them a team to watch in the AFC for the years to come.
7. This coming week is the biggest week for pro days across the country. Monday has Alabama’s second pro day (including more Jones), Miami (Florida) and Notre Dame. Tuesday has Ohio State, while Wednesday has Florida and LSU. Belichick hasn’t been spotted at any of the pro days yet and if he were to be at any at all this spring, this would be the week for it to happen.
