Patriots 2023 Draft Preview: Defensive Tackles

Current roster: Christian Barmore, Lawrence Guy, Davon Godchaux, Carl Davis Jr., Daniel Ekuale

Positional overview: Defensive tackle hasn't been a glaring weakness on the Patriots roster in quite a while. They've had good success over the years when it's come to identifying and signing free agents who fit their scheme of a rotating, amorphous, situational front line of defense. Whether it's big bodies who can play head up on a lineman, take on double teams and 2-gap, or more traditional 40-front DTs who can line up in a gap and penetrate. And often times, play both on opposite sides of the center. 

Last year was no different. But aside from hitting a home run with Barmore in the 2nd round of 2020, they've more or less relied on free agent signings than drafting and developing. Before Barmore the last down linemen they selected werer Byron Cowart in 2019 and Vincent Valentine in 2016. That's quite a dry spell for personnel department that has taken 18 D-tackles in Bill Belichick's 23 drafts, 13 of them in the first four rounds, and five of those in Round 1. 

I'm not suggesting we'll see them go DT on Thursday night. But they've more or less neglected this spot for a while. And when you move guys through the line spots throughout the course of each game the way they do, you need more Clone Troopers than you did back in say, 2004-07, when the reps were all going to 1st round picks (R to L) Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork and Richard Seymour. So look for some help coming out of those middle rounds where they've got a stockpile of picks and all the maneuverability in the world to manipulate the board to GM Bill's evil purposes.

Perhaps the Best Prospect at Any Position in the Entire Draft:

Jalen Carter, Georgia. 6-foot-3, 314 pounds, 4.80 40-time

This former 5-star prospect has exceeded his early hype like no one since a young Christian Bale. He's a three-year starter for the Bulldogs, won two national titles and First Team All-American. Played all over the formation including with his hand in the FieldTurf on the interior, a two-point stance on the edge, and is mobile enough to be put on Spy duty against certain quarterbacks. Not surprisingly then, he's the best pass rusher in his class and a Tackle For Loss incarnate. He won't last three picks, despite an arrest on March 1st. When you've got Carter's talent, you could lose tens of billions of your investors life savings in a cryptocurrency debacle, and you're still starting Week 1. 

Compares to the Other Leading Brand: Quinnen Williams

The "After" Photos in an Ozempic Ad (i.e. Smallish DTs):

Calijah Nencey, Pitt. 6-1, 281 lbs, 4.67

Another First Team All-American, and the ACC DPOTY. As you can infer from his size profile, Kancey gets by on his explosive first step more than driving guards and centers back with overpowering force. But he has been known to put a blocker on rollerskates, most notably C Cooper Mays of Tennessee. He's got a ton of experience, with 36 games and over 1,400 snaps over the past three seasons. In 2021, he mostly lined up in the A-gap before being slid out to the G-T gap for the vast majority of the time last year. And from there, he was as productive an interior pass rusher as there was in the nation, with 47 pressures on 275 pass rush snaps. The questions about his size at the next level are legitimate. But there's no question about his explosiveness and toughness. 

Compares to the Other Leading Brand: Ed Oliver

Bryan Bresee, Clemson.  6-5 1/2, 298 lbs, 4.86

Bresee was the No. 1 recruit in the nation regardless of position, and turned down Penn State, Ohio State, Georgia and Alabama to give the Final Rose to Clemson. And there he was moved back and forth along the line like a Foosball goalie. He played 0- and 3-tech, 2- and 4-shade, standing up over the C-G gap, wide-9 end, and on both sides of the formation. He played a ton in 2020, with over 400 snaps. And four games into 2021 he'd already recorded 10 pressures before all that pressure blew out his ACL. But just to illustrate why the Patriots worry so little about ACL surgeries in this remarkable time of medicine (remember that Dominique Easley had both of his repaired and they took him in the 1st), Bresee bounced back back with a career year. For all his position versatility, he doesn't really seem to have a variety pack of pass rush techniques, and will have to develop moves and counter moves at the next level. And also add some mass. But at 6-5 1/2, there's plenty of room on his frame for some extra helpings at the training table. 

 Compares to the Other Leading Brand: Leonard Williams

Body Positivity Guys (i.e. Bigger DTs):

Mazi Smith, Michigan. 6-3, 323 lbs, 4.96

 

I don't know how accurate Smith's 40-time is, because he didn't run at the Combine. If he had recorded that time in Indy, it would've been the 7th fastest at the NFL's Company Picnic among DTs. And it sounds crazy that anyone his size could move that fast. In Newton's Second Law terms, 323 pounds of Mass X sub-5.00 Acceleration = Impossible. Regardless, does he move really well for a man of his girth, especially with respect to lateral quickness. He might not have the sideline-to-sideline range you expect out of a deep safety, but when you're lining him up over the interior gaps (400 snaps in the B, 185 in the A), his numbers-to-numbers range is impressive. But I'm burying the lede. Smith's game is power and leverage to control blockers and plug holes in the line, and he does those better than anyone in this group. He's not someone with a huge initial punch, but he's hard to move and should fit a scheme that asks tackles to occasionally 2-gap. 

Compares to the Other Leading Brand: Dontari Poe

Siaki Ika, Baylor. 6-3, 335 lbs, 5.39

Another Reubenesque gentleman, Ika transferred from BYU before the 2021 season and paid huge (unintentional pun but it stays in) dividends right away. Surprisingly enough for a guy who's one Thanksgiving weekend away from becoming his own congressional district, he got after quarterbacks for the Bears, with six sacks and 33 pressures on 275 pass rush attempts. That production dropped off last season, with no sacks, 15 pressures and three QB hits. However he was still able to disrupt passing lanes, with two PBUs in each of the last two seasons. He's sort of the opposite of Smith in that he relies on heavy hands and a overpowering punch to disengage from blocks, rather than any refined technique. He's more of your classic, 0-tech nose tackle, who'll devour double teams and free up others to flow to the ball. But if anyone can harness his 2021 pass rushing performance, they'll unlock the power of a truly two-dimensional inside threat. 

Compares to the Other Leading Brand: Paul Soliai

A Bit of a Sleeper:

Keeanu Benton, Wisconsin. 6-4. 309, 5.08

I not only put Benton in this category, I created it just for him. And yet I admit it's an odd description, just because some draft sites have him ranked as high as the third best DT in the draft. But according to NFL Mock Draft Database, he's only fifth on the consensus boards. Which is odd because he seems so complete. A size/speed/strength/mobility cocktail in a tall glass of athleticism. A guy who can put down roots to plug holes and slip through the wash to chase down running backs on the outside. And also has the quick twitch get-off to have had six sacks, 11 QB hits and 11 hurries among his 227 passing downs in 2022. He's got advanced traits developed over his 25 games the last two seasons, including punches, swim moves, and rips. If it's not overstating the case, I think he's sort of an Upper Middle Class Man's Jalen Carter, and could go anywhere in the first 60 or so picks. Plus a guy named Keeanu can drink from my canteen anytime.

Compares to the Other Leading Brand: Austin Johnson

The Wildcard:

Tuli Tuipulotu, USC. 6-3, 266 lbs, 4.87

Not only is that weight not a typo, this guy led the FBS in sacks with 13.5. His intangibles are off the charts (though as a reminder, if you could chart them, they'd be tangible), with his high octane, nitro-powered engine that runs hot on the red line at all times. His chief weapon is his initial burst that gets him past pass blockers' reach before they can get get handsy with him. All that Big D energy won't be of any use to anyone if he doesn't hit the weight room. But any team willing to take the risk and let him be a situational pass rusher for a while as he develops and fills out, is going to get a guy with a ceiling the height of a cathedral's. It's hard not to hear about of an undersized defensive lineman who led the nation in sacks while playing in the Pac-12 and not think of Tedy Bruschi.

Compares to the Other Leading Brand: George Karlaftis

The One DT the Patriots Met With:

Jaquelin Roy, LSU.  6-3, 305 lbs, 5.28

A strong run-force defender first and foremost, Roy nevertheless stayed on the field as an inside pass rusher on 3rd downs. If he didn't put a lot of QB pelts on his saddle with two sacks and five hits, he still managed to be a disrupting presence with 20 hurries. And he's as experiences as practically anyone in his "graduating" class, with 26 games over the last two seasons and 675 total snaps last year. He faced a lot of double teams and had a gift for defeating them with explosiveness and strength. Played 2-gap as well as 1-gap penetrator. He's demonstrated NFL-ready, plug and play techniques, with good leverage, body control and lateral quickness. And with his swim and club hand-fighting moves, his Tiger karate can defeat your Dragon discipline. In all, he's just one of those guys whose tape doesn't blow your hat off, but you don't find him making mistakes or getting beat bad.

Compares to the Other Leading Brand: Harrison Phillips

The Perfect Patriot: Let's dispense with mentioning Carter, since he's technically "The Perfect Player for Any Team Lousy Enough to be in a Position to Draft Him." And fortunately, that ain't us. So I'm going with Roy.

Whom the Patriots Will Draft: Roy. I think there's a reason they worked him out. He's exactly their type. A mid-round projection who's versatile, polished, experienced, solid though not spectacular. The kind of guy they've collected like Pokemon over the years to be part of their rotation, filling different roles depending on the situation, who will fit into the gears of their front-7 machinery without having t​o apply any axle grease to jam him in there between the Barmores, Guys and Gochauxs. I'd also love to see them take a flyer on Tuipulotu, because he's got folk hero potential. But Roy is the pick. Let's all pledge to resist cracking wise about his name.

On a final note, thanks for reading this far. These Patriots draft previews are a little specialized and niche and therefore will never draw the numbers of say, a mock draft. And that's fine. A ton of time and effort goes into them, but it's work I've enjoyed doing since I first began posting these some time back in the mid-2000s. I say again, I'll put my record of successfully predicting what the Pats will do against anybody's. And for sure hope I add to that this weekend. All I ask is that my successful picks don't turn out to be busts or go on murder sprees like some of the past ones. Regardless, it's going to be a wild few days.

Earlier previews:

Wide receivers

Offensive tackles

Tight ends

Edge

Safeties

Cornerbacks