The New England Patriots are looking to revitalize their pass rush after winning Super Bowl LI. Trey Flowers is a cornerstone player, but Rob Ninkovich is aging, Chris Long isn’t coming back, and there is a very good chance that Jabaal Sheard will receive a contract offer with more playing time somewhere else.
The Patriots will likely double-dip at the position, just like they did in the 2015 NFL Draft with Flowers and Geneo Grissom, but there’s one player that definitely won’t be on the board with an interesting Patriots-related goal.
Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett is the top ranked prospect in the entire draft and is projected to go 1st overall to the Cleveland Browns. When asked which quarterback in the NFL he wants to sack the most, he replied “Tom Brady,” justifying it by saying, “I’m a Peyton Manning fan.”
Well, playing for Cleveland sounds like deserving punishment for such a response.
The Patriots are actually turning over every stone for pass rushers in the 2017 NFL Draft, meeting with first round prospects like Auburn’s Carl Lawson and Missouri’s Charles Harris, to day two prospects like FSU’s DeMarcus Walker and Kansas State’s Jordan Willis.
Click here to see all the Patriots known draft visits.
The Patriots won’t know their roster needs until after free agency, but it seems pretty apparent that head coach Bill Belichick wants to focus on improving the pass rush.