Patriots: 3 non-QB options in 2021 NFL Draft after re-signing Cam Newton

Gregory Rousseau, EDGE, Miami

As it currently stands, the Patriots would prepare to open the 2021 season with former University of Michigan teammates Chase Winovich and Josh Uche as their starting EDGE defenders. Second-year man Anfernee Jennings combines with the 2 former Wolverines to form a solid young core on the outside for Bill Belichick’s defensive front, even as veteran defensive ends Shilique Calhoun, John Simon, and Deatrich Wise are set to enter free agency.

Belichick, the most successful and arguably most influential coach in modern professional sports, is an undisputed master tactician on the defensive side of the ball. One of the difficulties in assembling his 3-4 (functioning as a 3-3/4-2) scheme lies in the highly specialized nature required of many positions within the defense.

The players traditionally referred to as EDGE defenders in such a scheme are the outside linebackers. However, particularly in the nickel and dime “sub” packages that in practice makeup New England’s base defense, a (typically left) defensive end most often joins the lone outside backer in aligning on the offense’s set of offensive tackles.

While professional 3-4 on-ball linebackers often take the form of speedy, edge-setting college force players who fail to reach the size threshold required to work inside, it is the defensive end position, often seen as the less glamorous of the two,  that can require a more unique and specialized player.

A defensive end in the Patriots scheme must have the size and strength to mix it up with offensive tackles and tight ends in the run game, while also possessing the speed and technique to affect a rush in passing situations.

The team has found recent success in the role with inexpensive free agents at the defensive end position, which have taken the form of either a “sub-rusher” specialists like Adrian Clayborn or every down-types such as Michael Bennett. However, when drafting a defensive end, the Pats definitely have a type. Belichick and company gravitate towards prospects at the position who are at least 260 pounds, have long arms, and have shown to be explosive via their vertical and broad jump numbers at the NFL combine. Additionally, the team tends to prefer versatile college end-types who have shown the ability to produce from different alignments.

It could be said that no prospect in the upcoming draft checks more of these preferred boxes than Miami’s Gregory Rousseau.

At 6-foot-7, and a reported 265 pounds, Rousseau is a certified freak of an athlete. In keeping further with the Pats’ demonstrated preference at the position is the former Hurricane’s ability to wreak havoc as both an outside rusher and an interior defender. In fact, a healthy portion of his production at The U came from an inside alignment, as he represented a pure terror for collegiate guards and centers.

Though Rousseau will likely arrive in the league further along the continuum to the rush specialist side, there is a lot in his current game that speaks to the potential to developed into a well-rounded NFL edge defender. More of a disruptor in the run game, where his current approach is to utilize his length and strength to effectively knife into an opponent’s backfield, he could likewise use these traits to serve as a primary block occupier in shielding inside backers from lunging offensive linemen as required of a traditional end in a league 3-4 scheme.

Displaying the positional versatility that New England has looked to value during Belichick’s tenure, Rousseau could represent a potentially devastating situational rusher from the defensive end position even as he works to develop into the inside-out player that he appears well equipped to become.