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The Patriots badly needed pass-rush help, especially on the outside. Dre’Mont Jones provides that, but he also comes with position flexibility that will allow defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr to get creative, potentially using Jones on the inside in obvious passing situations.
Jones has good length (33 3/4-inch arms), which the Patriots have lacked from their edge rushers of late.
Jones’ exact role will be determined in part by the rest of the moves the Patriots make this offseason, but there’s certainly a chance he’s one of their two starting defensive ends.
For now, Jones joins an edge rusher group that is limited to Harold Landry, Anfernee Jennings, Elijah Ponder and Bradyn Swinson.
There are two things that the Patriots surely liked when studying Jones, who grew up in Cleveland (near where Vrabel did) and went to Ohio State (like Vrabel). The first is that Jones’ play last season improved significantly after the trade to the Ravens. He had just 19 quarterback pressures in nine games with the Titans, then 32 pressures in nine games with the Ravens.
The other thing Vrabel will appreciate is that Jones doesn’t just get pressure, but he affects the quarterback. Jones had 24 QB hits last season. By comparison, Landry led the team in QB hits a year ago with 19.
