Why was the signing of Dre’Mont Jones such a high priority in Free Agency?Dre’Mont Jones agreed to a contract within 10 minutes of the opening of the Legal Tampering Period of Free Agency. The key factor with Jones is his Pressure Rate. He had 44 Pressures when going one-on-one, which ranked 8th in the league. Pressure Rate is more important than sacks in the Patriots’ defensive scheme. With Pressure generated by Williams and Barmore up the middle, Jones will get a lot of cleanup sacks.Pro DaysThis is a very busy week on the Pro Days schedule as they are coming to a close next week. LSU Linebacker Harold Perkins ran a reported 4.38 40-yard dash. I will check the official times later this week. No question he is an athlete, but can he play?Mike Vrabel attended the Boston College Pro Day. WR Lewis Bond is expected to be drafted late on Day 3. By all reports, Bond had an impressive day.Keionte Scott, CB, Miami, had a spectacular day at his Pro Day. He ran a blistering 4.33 40-yard dash, 44” Vertical, and 10” 4” Broad Jump.Comings and GoingsThe Patriots signed a new Swing Tackle in James Hudson, formerly of the New York Giants. The 6’41/2”, 323-pound Tackle from the University of Cincinnati. Cleveland drafted him in 2021 in the 4th round (110). Hudson has 32 7/8” arm length and started 3 games for NYG last season. His PFF Grade was a very bad 33. He gives the Patriots a veteran swing Tackle as he has played both Left and Right Tackle with 60 games played and 19 starts. Hudson has a nastiness to his play. He was benched in the Dallas game for having 2 false starts and 2 unnecessary roughness penalties in 6 plays.Hudson, who turns 27 in May, was released by the Giants on March 6th and signed with the Patriots on Monday. This isn’t a great signing and offers the team a camp body that has potential. His best season was with Cleveland in 2023, when he played in all 16 games with 7 starts. In that season, his PFF Grade was only 44.7. Hudson played with Cleveland when Mike Vrabel was a consultant with them. Ashton Grant was the QB coach, and new Assistant Offensive Line coach Jonathan DeCoster coached him there. This signing also means that the pressure to draft a Left Tackle isn’t a priority. Hudson’s deal is a one-year show-me contract, probably for the Vet minimum.Kindle Vildor CB signed with the Patriots. This is another low-cost signing to add depth. The 5’11” 189-pound CB had 83 snaps on Special Teams for Tampa Bay last season.The Patriots released QB Joshua Dobbs on Monday, clearing the way for Tommy DeVito to be the backup QB. Hen DeVito signed earlier this year I had hoped he would be given the chance to be the backup. I wasn’t impressed by anything that Dobbs did as the backup to warrant him being on the roster. This means the Patriots will be looking for a backup QB in the draft. According to Mike Giardi of Boston Sports Journal, the Patriots will save $3.7M in real cash while incurring a $1M dead Salary Cap hit. The Patriots tried to trade Dobbs with no takers, not even for a 7th-round pick.New Patriots Numbers New Jersey numbers have been assigned to the following players:4: Craig Woodson (gave up his jersey number to Kevin Byard)5: Dre’Mont Jones28: CB Kindle Vildor30: RB Elijah Mitchell31: Kevin Byard33: Mike Brown35: LB K.J. Britt39: CB Brandon Crossley42: ED Jesse Luketa44: Reggie Gilliam61: OT Sebastian Gutierrez62: LS Niko Lalos68: OT James Hudson III75: Alijah Vera-Tucker80: Julian Hill81: TE C.J. Dippre87: Romeo DoubsThe Patriots are heading toward April with currently 71of their 91 available roster spots filled, excluding fullback Jack Westover (unsigned ERFA tender). Tackle Loren Metz gets a roster exception because he is an International Pathways Program player. That is why they will be allowed to have 91 players. If the Patriots use all of their Draft Picks (11), that would bring them to 82 with room for just 8 UDFAs.Snaps for Wide ReceiversWith the signing of Romeo Doubs and the release of Stefon Diggs the allotment of play snaps and targets will be adjusted next year. It’s not a simple plug-and-play swap. Diggs played all over the place, and Doubs can too, but I don’t think he will be asked to do that as much. Diggs played a lot in the slot and took reps away from Demario Douglas. Doubs will be deployed more on the outside, which can take away opportunities for Kayson Boutte and Kyle Williams.Boutte, Douglas. and Hollins are all in the final year of their contracts and will be Unrestricted Free Agents next year. Douglas is on the roster bubble and needs a big training camp just to make the roster. Efton Chism will push him, but keep in mind that every team passed on drafting Chism for a reason, and his 4.72 speed is that reason. He is very slow for a wide receiver. He gets open because he runs such precise routes and has good quickness, as evidenced by his 6.77 3-cone drill. Douglas ran a 4.44 40 but a 7.05 3-cone drill. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Patriots draft a wide receiver this year.
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About Mark MorseMerrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.View all posts by Mark Morse
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