The Countdown to Kickoff series continues on with a profile on New England Patriots defensive end Jabaal Sheard who looks to fill some big shoes this season.
There are exactly 93 days until the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers open up the 2016 NFL regular season with a Super Bowl rematch. In the meantime, we at NFL Spin Zone are going to profile a player each day as we countdown the days to kickoff.
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The Countdown to Kickoff series began with a profile on number 99 Joey Bosa and has continued on everyday since (check out all of the posts here). There were plenty of strong choices to profile at number 93, with Ndamukong Suh and Calais Campbell standing out as premier players in the league who wear the number.
However, I decided to go with a New England Patriots defensive end who is set to take on a larger role in 2016.
To help make up for lost draft capital, the Patriots traded defensive end Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals this off season. Jones was likely to leave via free agency next off season anyway, so the Patriots go ahead of it and traded him away.
While the Jones trade was a smart move that made a lot of sense, it is not going to be easy to replace a 12.5 sack player. However, giving Jabaal Sheard a more expanded role will certainly help.
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Sheard was an absolute monster for the Patriots last season, finishing with eight sacks in his first year with the team. Those eight sacks came in only 13 games and one start as he was the clear third defensive end on the roster behind Jones and Rob Ninkovich. According to Mike Reiss of ESPN, Sheard played in only 51 percent of the Patriots’ defensive snaps last season.
While he was not a starter for the Pats, Sheard put up a strong sack total and 24 quarterback hurries according to Sporting Charts. Sheard’s 24 hurries were tied for the 17th most in all of football, and were incredible impressive compared to Jones’ 16 hurries, especially when the playing time is taken in to consideration.
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Sheard was an extremely productive pass rusher last season who consistently put pressure on the quarterback. Jones was a talented defensive end for the Patriots, but his production came in bunches. Sheard seems to be more of a consistent threat on the edge, and it will be incredibly interesting to see what he can do with much more playing time.
Ninkovich is going to continue to start at left defensive end for the Patriots, but Jones’ starting right defensive end position is Sheard’s to lose. Veteran Chris Long and second-year players Geneo Grissom and Trey Flowers will push Sheard for playing time, but he is going to be the primary player to replace Jones.
With a strong combination of power and athleticism, and also the versatility to make plays from many different positions up front, Sheard is going to continue to be a weapon on the Patriots’ defensive. The only difference this season, Sheard will not be held back by limited snaps.
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Sheard is going to be let loose by the Patriots’ defensive coaching staff and his upside is seemingly unlimited.