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Mailbag: OTAs offer glimpse of what could be an elite Pats D

Patriots mailbag season is here!

With OTAs in full swing, we put out the call for your biggest questions surrounding New England heading into the summer. Let's dive right into the answers...

We touched on this a bit on the latest edition of Next Pats, Qualitysmoke. That would be an intriguing foursome of pass-rushers in that they'd all have very different skill sets. I could see them being a handful for an offensive lineman if he thinks he's blocking Christian Barmore (6-foot-5, 310 pounds) and then all of a sudden he has Josh Uche (6-foot-3, 245 pounds) coming at him on a two-man game.

This should be a group that is excellent against the pass, as well as the run. The one area in which they struggled statistically last year was against mobile quarterbacks -- Lamar Jackson and Justin Fields ran wild against them -- but they seemed to get that cleaned up against Josh Allen later in the year (36 rush yards on 17 carries in two games). Their defense was third in EPA per dropback last year, and with the addition of Gonzalez should be even better.

We'll keep an eye on the pass-rush groupings during OTAs to see if there are any interesting combinations there. How they perform really doesn't matter at this point, obviously. These are non-contact sessions held in shorts and t-shirts. But the diversity of traits they can throw at the line of scrimmage in obvious passing situations will be intriguing.

I do see Trent Brown as being part of the mix in New England. But I don't think it's a lock. They have three veterans on the roster that they re-signed this offseason (Riley Reiff, Calvin Anderson, Conor McDermott). And they drafted a lineman who looks like he's going to be worked into the scheme as a tackle (Sidy Sow).

Trent Brown was seventh in the NFL in penalties last year with nine, including a whopping five false starts. He graded out as the 36th tackle in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus. And, yes, if he's cut the Patriots would save $ 8 million against the cap. Trading him would save $ 11 million. All reasons why Bill Belichick would be open to moving on.

But Brown is talented enough that the Patriots could certainly use him at one of their starting spots. His peak is significantly better than any of the other vets the team has at the position right now. But what kind of shape is he in when he's out at practice consistently? (He wasn't at the OTA open to reporters last week.) How will he jell with Bill O'Brien?

Perhaps the key to Brown's reemergence as a consistently-dependable player will be Adrian Klemm. My understanding is that Klemm can be a demanding coach. He was at the college level. Maybe that changes in Foxboro. But a little edge would be a good thing for Brown, I think. He has responded to hard coaching in the past -- see: Dante Scarnecchia, with whom he played his best football -- and maybe Klemm helps him get back on track.

OTAs aren't going to be Marte Mapu's time to shine necessarily, Bader. He was a heat-seeking missile at Sac State (and the Senior Bowl). No contact in the spring means no real opportunity for him to do what he does best. But I'll say it was noteworthy just to see how early he was out on the field.

Again, it's June, so we'll take all observations from these practices with a sizable grain of salt. But despite the pec injury he suffered at the Senior Bowl -- he wore a red non-contact jersey because of it -- he was in the middle of Belichick's defense at the linebacker level with a bunch of other regulars. Seems as though they want to try to get him up to speed as quickly as possible as a sub linebacker.

Michael! Never say never.

This is a good time for me to clear some things up after I wrote about Hopkins last week. I spoke to a number of NFL coaches and execs about a potential marriage between Hopkins and the Patriots, and the general consensus was that Hopkins -- and in particular his reputation as a player who doesn't practice much -- wouldn't exactly fit the culture Belichick has tried to foster in New England.

What would I say? Go get him anyway.

I've said it many times on Early Edition over the last few months. We've been talking about Hopkins in Foxboro since we were in Arizona following the Patriots' Monday Night Football win over the Cardinals in December. And I've been consistent throughout: I think the Patriots should try to acquire him. Especially now that all they'll have to give up is money.

I've spoken to defensive coaches each of the last two offseasons who look at the Patriots and can't help but point out their lack of firepower -- and how that lack of firepower makes them relatively easy to defend. Perhaps Tyquan Thornton makes a serious leap in Year 2. Perhaps Kendrick Bourne can be better than he was two seasons ago when he posted 800 yards.

But, in my opinion, the Patriots need more juice. Hopkins doesn't have the juice he once did, but he'd help. While I'll acknowledge what I've been told -- that he may not be a seamless fit -- I'd also argue the Patriots are past the point of needing to be able to sacrifice something in the way of culture in order to get more talented.

It's a great discussion, though, and I love the existential questions it presents for a team that seems to be in the midst of a bit of an identity crisis. Are they competing for championships? Looking to get to the playoffs at all costs? Rebuilding? I think whether or not they seriously pursue Hopkins would provide us some answers to those questions and more.

I think he'd be an ideal No. 2 behind Rhamondre Stevenson, Steve. They need someone who can spell Stevenson. Not just on third downs. But on first and second downs, too. Asking one guy to carry that early-down load all year is too much. His body type surprised me a little bit during last week's OTA. He's burlier than I remember him being with Jacksonville. Maybe it's the fact that he has a single-digit jersey number now (No. 3). But he's built to be a versatile option, like Stevenson. I think Belichick would like having a do-it-all backup to Stevenson to maintain some level of unpredictability no matter who's out there.

If you're looking at the roles compared to a couple of years ago? Stevenson is Stevenson. Robinson would be Damien Harris with a little more receiving ability. Ty Montgomery would be James White. That's how I see it at the moment. We'll see how Kevin Harris and Pierre Strong fit depending on their development, injuries to others, etc.

If I had to guess: no.

Haven't seen him yet, Harry. Our pal Albert Breer from Sports Illustrated reported that Christian Gonzalez was dealing with an illness. Expecting to see him Tuesday, though. He was at their OTA session on May 23, which you can see from the team's online slideshow. (Same goes for Christian Barmore and JuJu Smith-Schuster, who were missing from the May 31 practice open to reporters.)

Where to start? Crispness. Efficiency. One clear play-caller. No Belichickian involvement on a play-to-play basis. Quarterback confidence.

I think Jalen Mills will get a chance there, Austin. They like his versatility but didn't love his availability last year. Have to be durable if you're going to be the quarterback of the defense, as Devin McCourty was, from that spot.

I wouldn't read too much into secondary combinations from the first day of OTAs. The corner group was so thin there wasn't much moving and shaking back there. For instance, I think we'll see some Jonathan Jones at safety at some point. But in that first open OTA -- with Gonzalez and Marcus Jones unavailable -- Jonathan Jones played all corner, from what I could gather.

You an orphan from Tatooine?

One percent? Unless you think Keion White is Rodney Harrison in this equation, they don't have another edge defender on the roster who can do everything Judon can do. And while Judon has a big base salary this year ($11 million), you could argue he's outperformed his contract. Right now he looks like one of Belichick's better free-agent signings, and as such I'd be shocked if he willingly parted ways with the 31-year-old.

They need someone who can initiate the offense and set up Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to be at their best. Period. I like Malcolm Brogdon, but he's more of a score-first guy than a playmaker. It's not Marcus Smart. It can be Derrick White in spurts, but they could use an upgrade. Just not sure where it comes from.

The Patriots could make it work easily. Void years are all the rage. Look at what the Ravens just did with Odell Beckham Jr. He got $15 million guaranteed for one year, yet his cap hit is around $4 million for 2023. Would be no problem for Belichick if he wanted to do it... and if Hopkins wanted to be here.

That said, I don't think Hopkins will end up with Beckham money, which should make fitting him under the cap even easier.

Thornton didn't look noticeably bigger to me, Joey and Guy. As for Douglas, we covered how he looked in detail on the latest Next Pats. In short? Quick. And he got some reps with Mac Jones, who was clearly the top quarterback during the practice.