donta hightower

The Patriots lost two linebackers this offseason – Brandon Spikes and Dane Fletcher, and though they didn’t make a splashy addition to replace them this offseason, they still have a promising starting trio remaining. The headline is that defensive signal caller Jerod Mayo returns from a pectoral tear that ended his 2013 season early.

But the depth behind Mayo, Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins is still largely an unknown. With a collection of rookie and veteran free agents, the Pats could find themselves with some new faces at the linebacker position making an impact.

Here’s our preview of the linebackers.

We have to start with Mayo, whose return to the lineup should be a big boost, especially for the pass defense. Mayo makes all the calls and is the leader of the defense. It was surprising the Pats defense was able to hold the fort as well as they did without their captain, but selling out on the pass hurt their run defense.

Dont’a Hightower was somewhat overwhelmed early on after Mayo went down, but late in the season Hightower settled in and started making plays.

Speaking of making plays, Jamie Collins was all over the place against the Colts in the divisional round. Collins had shown some potential in the regular season, but burst onto the scene in the playoffs.

Almost everyone is projecting Collins to be a breakout star of 2014. At this point it would almost be more surprising if he wasn’t playing almost every down next to Mayo.

The bigger question is how the Collins-Mayo-Hightower trio will fit together schematically. Mayo had been playing the Will linebacker spot since the 2011 switch to a 4-3 base.

While Hightower seems the best fit to slide to Brandon Spikes’ vacated middle linebacker spot, there were rumors from OTAs that it was Mayo manning the middle with Collins on the weakside and Hightower on the strongside.

How well will the Pats will defend runs up the middle with that personnel? Mayo is at his best in space, and the move would certainly help the pass defense up the seam, but can they hold up without a downhill physical presence like Spikes inside?

Regardless, the Pats have a trio of talented linebackers to start, but behind them are where the real questions come.

The Pats signed veteran James Anderson, a passing down specialist. He should fill some of Dane Fletcher’s former responsibilities and is good insurance for Mayo.

Second-year player Steve Beauharnais was one of the many Rutgers rookies last season and showed some promise in the 2013 preseason. He will be under the microscope in training camp and could have an inside track for a bigger role in 2013.

Chris White and Josh Hill are experienced NFL special teamers and there’s always a spot for at least one of those kind of guys.

Ja’Gared Davis and Darius Fleming have pass rush skills and the Pats always have a need for those kind of guys. With some thin depth at defensive end and designated pass rusher, one of them could find a roster spot if they’re able to consistently get after quarterbacks this summer.

Cameron Gordon, Deontae Skinner and Taylor McCuller all have an uphill battle but there always seems to be an undrafted rookie linebacker like Fletcher or Gary Guyton who make the roster. 

Projection:

It will be interesting to see how Mayo, Collins and Hightower are split up situationally. Our best guess is that Mayo and Collins rarely leave the field. Hightower has some pass rush potential and could be used as a blitzer as well.

Behind them there’s a lot of question marks and there’s plenty of room for a couple unknowns to emerge and make an impact.

It will be an interesting area to focus on this summer.

Previously:

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Offensive Line

Tight Ends

Defensive Tackle

Defensive Ends