March 14 was the start of the NFL new year and free agency was off and running. However, with many big names going off the board (Michael Bennett, Richard Sherman), many Patriots fans were concerned with what the team will do. However, last week the Patriots signed Jeremy Hill from the Bengals and Adrian Claybourne from the Falcons. In this article, I give a little background on who they are and what they can bring to the team.
Jeremy Hill: 1 Year, $1.5 Million
Hill fits into the Patriots' overall financial running back picture when considering Rex Burkhead is back on a three-year deal worth $9.75 million deal, trusted third-down back James White signed a three-year, $12 million extension last year and Mike Gillislee was signed to a two-year, $6.4 million last year. Hill had a lessened role in 2017 though after the team drafted Joe Mixon in the second round of last years draft. Mixon led the team with 626 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Giovani Bernard also carried the rock, rushing for 458 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, the promising running back injured his ankle and landed on injured reserve, which only allowed him to play in seven games last season, running for 116 yards. Hill will compete with Gillislee for the power back role. If all goes well, Hill could easily find himself scoring double-digit touchdowns in this Patriots offense seeing how many other running backs have had success with this team. However, there is a glaring negative with Hill and that is he fumbles the ball a lot. He has fumbled nine times in his first two seasons. If there’s one thing that Head Coach Bill Belichick won’t put up with, it’s coughing up the football. Belichick is always preaching to his players about ball security (see Steven Ridley). If Hill can fully recover from his ankle surgery and get back to his 2014 form, or at least 80% close to it, the Patriots may have found the steal of free agency.
Adrian Clayborn: 2 Years, $12.5 Million
One of the biggest knocks on the Patriots defense last season had to do with the fact their front seven scared no one. It lacked playmakers, particularly the kind who puts pressure on the quarterback (minus Trey Flowers). This was why losing out on Michael Bennett hurt at the beginning of free agency since he could have easily helped out with this issue. After the Claborn signing, teams now won’t be able to consistently double Trey Flowers, or just focus on taking him away with Clayborn now on the other side. Clayborn will also solve another issue, which is setting the edge on the opposite side of Flowers, which was a huge problem last season. At 6-foot-3, 280 pounds, he has the size to stand up to linemen on the move as well. Clayborn has never recorded a double-digit sack season, but he’s a solid overall edge defender who brings some versatility to the Patriots’ defensive front. Clayborn had 9.5 sacks (six of which came in Week 10 against the Dallas Cowboys) and 56 total pressures in 2017. Clayborn will definitely compete for snaps with Patriots defensive linemen Deatrich Wise, Adam Butler, Derek Rivers, Eric Lee, Keionta Davis and Geneo Grissom. Butler, who’s an undersized defensive tackle who also played defensive end as a rookie last season, is the player most comparable to Clayborn on the Patriots’ roster.
