The New England Patriots went all-in on their defense this offseason, pouring the bulk of their free-agent cash into that unit. Last week, they snagged edge rusher Harold Landry, defensive tackle Milton Williams, cornerback Carlton Davis, and linebacker Robert Spillane in a wild spending spree. Sure, their offense was crying for help, but let’s be real—the defense needed a serious jolt too.
So, how’d they do? Ted Nguyen from The Athletic says the Patriots might just have the NFL’s most upgraded defense now. “They wanted to juice up the offense for second-year QB Drake Maye, who turned heads last season,” Nguyen noted. “But so far, it’s all defense, all day. New head coach Mike Vrabel’s probably doing cartwheels over it.”
Still, the price tags raise some eyebrows. Dropping a monster four-year, $104 million deal on Williams—who only played 48 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps last year—feels like a head-scratcher.
And that three-year, $60 million contract for Davis? Bold, especially when you stack it against other cornerback deals. Spillane’s a tackling beast, no doubt, but his coverage game’s more “meh” than “wow.”
No denying it, though—the Pats’ defense is tougher now, even if they had to shell out some sketchy bucks to make it happen. Now, if they could just snag some real offensive firepower for Maye, we’d be talking.
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