The New England Patriots have a heavy workload on their hands this offseason.
Tom Brady’s looming free agency decision sits on the top of the list, with guys like Kyle Van Noy, Devin McCourty and Joe Thuney shortly after. The Patriots need to reload offensively, but they still don’t know what the ripple effect will be if Brady does decide to leave.
Bill Belichick and Nick Caserio are hard at work trying to control the controllable’s, with a championship in mind for 2020. Brady, Van Noy, McCourty, Thuney, Jamie Collins, Matthew Slater, Danny Shelton and Nate Ebner are some of the most important guys worth retaining for the Patriots.
Pro Football Focus put together a list of the top free agents this offseason and five Patriots sit within the top 25. Here’s what PFF had to say about these five free agents.
Brady sits at No. 3.
It was an unfamiliar feeling in New England this season as the Patriots offense struggled and Brady finally showed signs of regression. When combined with a subpar group of playmakers, the Patriots offense trudged through the 2019 season and their marriage with Brady is entering uncharted territory. He’ll hit the open market for at least a minute in March and questions abound about whether his best fit is back in New England or is Brady ready for a fresh start as he heads into his age-43 season? He finished the year with a 79.0 overall grade and the second half of the season was a struggle as Brady ranked just 27th in positively graded throws. That’s a number that can increase with an improved supporting cast, and Brady’s No. 12 ranking shows that he’s still capable of quality production, but he appears to be past the point of elevating any group of playmakers to one of the best offenses in the league.
McCourty sits at No. 23.
The only thing keeping McCourty from being higher on the list is age, as he enters the 2020 season at 33 years old. McCourty exemplifies what you want in a “safe” safety, as he’s rarely out of position in the passing game and is a sure tackler in space with just 71 career misses on 890 tackle attempts. While McCourty has dabbled in multiple roles playing closer to the line of scrimmage or covering tight ends, he’s at his best as a deep free safety where he will rarely bust coverages and frequently take advantage of quarterback mistakes when presented
Thuney sits at No. 24.
It’s been a story of continuous improvement for Thuney since entering the league in 2016, and he finished the 2019 regular season with the No. 5 overall grade among guards (77.4). Thuney has had his best year in pass protection, allowing just 16 pressures on 693 attempts, good for the third-highest pass-blocking grade in the league (87.4). A converted college offensive tackle, Thuney struggled against more powerful players early in his career, but he’s developed nicely into one of the best all-around guards in the league.
Van Noy sits at No. 40.
After a slow start to his career in Detroit, Van Noy found a home in New England, and his versatility was an asset to the team as they made multiple Super Bowl runs. Van Noy is a true hybrid linebacker with pass-rushing skills, a coveted skillset by the Patriots and one that has him hitting free agency with many potential suitors given the recent growth of the Bill Belichick coaching tree. The 2019 season was the first year that we saw Van Noy used almost exclusively as a pass-rusher, and he picked up 60 pressures (eight sacks, nine QB hits, 43 hurries) on 464 rushes.
Collins sits at No. 50.
Jamie Collins’ last attempt at free agency was the ultimate case of beauty being in the eye of the beholder. Multiple seasons of elite play in New England during his first stint with the franchise led the Browns to become besotted with him, but his time in Cleveland was little north of disastrous. However, his return to the Patriots saw him rediscover a stretch of elite play before cooling off and ending the season with a sequence of disappointing play. Collins may represent one of the largest potential variances of any free agent available, but he remains an athletic and intriguing player who could tempt teams into trying to take advantage of a playmaker and game-changer on defense.
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