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New England Patriots: Jabaal Sheard a key signing

ByKevin Parvizi|

The New England Patriots have a massive hole at cornerback with Darrelle Revis back on the rival New York Jets and No. 2 CB Brandon Browner flirting with other teams, but they can use the boost in cap space to pursue a number of upgrades elsewhere on the defense. Their first step was to sign former Cleveland Browns edge rusher Jabaal Sheard, who, per Pro Football Talk, signed a two-year, $11 million deal with the Pats with half of the money ($5.5 million for those of you who are too tired) guaranteed.

Sheard isn’t the most exciting player in the league, but this signing has generated some anticipation thanks to this quote from a league source close to ESPN’s Adam Schefter:

That’s high praise indeed, especially for a player who had just two sacks last season and has consistently put up less sacks in each successive year since entering the league in 2011. Of course, most of us know that sacks are overrated, and they clearly don’ tell the whole story with Sheard, whose ability to put pressure on the QB and set the edge against the run made him a valuable asset in Cleveland.

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The Patriots have been forced to rely on blitzing linebackers and the same DE duo for too long, and last season’s injury to Chandler Jones showed why they can’t rely on that anymore. With Revis gone, the Patriots won’t be able to blitz Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower (particularly the former) as often, and, additionally, the decrease in talent at the cornerback position puts more stress on the pass rush as a whole. If Jones were to go down for a significant period of time again, then the Pats would be in big trouble.

Ever since the Patriots finally added a No. 1 corner in Aqib Talib during the 2012 season, the pass rush has been their biggest weakness, and they’ve tried to upgrade it by adding late-round rotational pass rushers, such as Michael Buchanan. It hasn’t worked, and it’s clear that they needed to prioritize adding a third edge rusher, especially since Rob Ninkovich is the kind of pass rusher who puts up sacks rather than steady pressure.

Sheard is different in that sense, though, like Ninko, he’s also a strong run defender. A switch to a 4-3 defense, though the Patriots run a hybrid defense now, should bode well for Sheard, who has the versatility to rush from different spots and was at his best in the 4-3 (that’s when he had a career-high 8.5 sacks and a copious amount of pressure as a rookie).

Although he was mediocre as a pass rusher last season and hasn’t been consistent on a year-to-year basis, he’s shown that he is at least an adequate source of pressure (he’s usually in the top 15 among qualifiers at the position in Pro Football Focus’s Pass Rushing Productivity) and an excellent run defender. Per PFF, he had the highest Run Stop% among all 3-4 OLBs last season, as only Washington Redskins ace two-way OLB Ryan Kerrigan recorded more total run stops (26-24).

Bill Belichick and the Patriots definitely covet players who can play the run and rush the passer well, as that’s something both Jones and Ninkovich currently bring to the table. However, the Patriots needed an extra hand to help their front seven out, and Sheard has plenty of upside in the Patriots defense in their 4-3 scheme.

It seems hard to believe, but Jabaal Sheard will only be 26 when the season opens up, so the Patriots have plenty to work with here, and they have a young, scheme-versatile pass rusher who was even better in run defense last season. That last fact can be seen as a positive or a negative, but given how much promise Sheard showed as a rookie in the 4-3, I’d say that’s a positive, especially since it indicates that his strength will suit the 4-3 better.

Since the New England Patriots most likely won’t stick to a set alignment next season after being a hybrid defense last season, signing Sheard only adds to their versatility. The price is more than fair, too, since Sheard is a young, three-down player who has proven that he can produce. Plus, he’s making less money per year than Minnesota Vikings DE Brian Robison, and Sheard has the more upside of the two.

The Patriots are in a position to get the most out of Sheard, and they needed to add another effective pass rusher to a defense that sorely needs to do a better job of getting after the quarterback. They have games where one of their pass rushers goes off, but they have too many quiet games up front and had to rely on their beastly linebacker duo to force pressure.

This move gives them more ammunition and flexibility as a pass rusher, and they have to focus on building a strong front seven in order to make up for Revis’s departure. They’ll also get to keep Jones and Ninko fresh, while adding someone who fits their defense better than some think. Sheard won’t play on every down, so when people call him a “three-down player”, it’s meant to show that he can spell Ninko and Jones on any down; that’s under the assumption he doesn’t take the starting job from Ninko.

Next: Brandon Gibson deal a nice flier

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