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The New England Patriots are in need of some defensive line depth. This veteran pass rusher would be a big add for their young front line.
After Sunday’s signing of Cam Newton, Patriots fans are much more optimistic about the team heading into the 2020 season. However, there are still quite a few question marks as they enter this new era. These concerns include an aging defense and a receiving corps that struggled in 2019.
One position the Pats are especially shaky is defensive end. As it stands, Chase Winovich and Deatrich Wise Jr. are the likely Week 1 starters for New England. The Patriots lost their two leading sack-getters this offseason in Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy. This veteran pass rusher could be a huge contributor if the Pats pick him up.
Everson Griffen would be a perfect fit in New England.
Everson Griffen has been a premier pass rusher in the NFL for a while now. Since 2011, he’s tallied 74.5 sacks, making him one of the most feared defensive ends in the league. The former Viking would be exactly what a young defensive end group needs. At 32, Griffen knows how to be a top tier pass rusher and he could help young players like Chase Winovich and Anfernee Jennings take their game to the next level.
It’s not like Griffen is past his prime either. Last season, he totaled a solid eight sacks, earning him a Pro-Bowl selection for the Vikings. In every season that he has registered at least 15 games since 2014, Griffen has totaled eight or more sacks. He’s also only two seasons removed from his career-high for sacks in 2017 with 13.
Griffen would create havoc for the Patriots on the defensive line. His physicality has always been a nightmare for opposing linemen to deal with and he would go a long way to patch the holes that Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy left in terms of pass-rushing. If you’re not going to ask him to do anything else, he’ll likely have a successful season in New England.
At this point in free agency, the Patriots could ink the veteran to a deal similar to the one they gave Cam Newton. An incentive-based one-year deal would make Griffen be a great high-risk high-reward option for the Pats. The Pats need a stud pass rusher. They could get one of the NFL’s best over the last decade for a bargain in Everson Griffen.