Year 3 will be better for New England Patriots edge rusher Chase Winovich for a multitude of reasons.
The 26-year-old out of Michigan already proved he can disrupt the pocket and be a reliable force for Bill Belichick. Winovich played in all 32 games during his first two years and he recorded 5.5 sacks in both seasons. Winovich’s presence was much stronger in 2019 when the Patriots’ linebacker corps was deep, but he took a slight step back in 2020 — mostly due to the lack of talent surrounding him.
New England’s defense has new key players with Dont’a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy, Matthew Judon and Raekwon McMillan to help take some pressure off of Winovich. The next step for him is to become more versatile and eclipse into different roles outside of being primarily a pass-rusher.
Winovich spoke about his versatility with reporters and said he’s been working on it throughout the offseason.
“I’ve been working a variety of different positions, I’d say. Right now I’m just doing whatever the coaches ask me to do,” Winovich said, transcribed by Pats Pulpit. “All I can say is that I feel great overall — the best mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, you name it, that I’ve ever been. I’m really excited for the opportunities that present themselves this year.”
It’s also helpful to have offseason workouts and time with his teammates following the difficult 2020 year with COVID-19.
“It’s awesome to be around my teammates, having this whole time the past few months to really get to know everybody. It has been a great opportunity for myself, just trying to build that camaraderie,” Winovich said.
“Dont’a, I haven’t had the opportunity to get reacquainted with him in person, unfortunately. But I’m excited for that to happen. It’s going to be great, honestly. I really am enjoying everybody that’s been here. This team is really starting to shape up, I think, and I am excited for those guys to all be around again. The Patriots have some awesome players on their team, awesome teammates.”
The Patriots are in much better shape for the 2021 season and Winovich’s progress will likely be on full display.
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