First in total defense. First in scoring defense. First in turnover margin. First in opponent QB rating. Second in takeaways. Second in passing defense. Sixth in rushing defense. Seventh in sacks.
No matter how you slice it, the 2019 Patriots had an elite defense.
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But finding a way to maintain that production in 2020 might be one of Bill Belichick's greatest challenges in his Patriots tenure.
The defense had already seen a host of offseason departures (Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins, Duron Harmon, Danny Shelton, Elandon Roberts). The defensive unit got even weaker Tuesday morning with news that two Patriot mainstays — Dont'a Hightower and Patrick Chung — were opting out of the 2020 NFL season due to concerns over COVID-19.
How much of a drop-off will that actually be? Chris Mason of MassLive shared an alarming stat illustrating just how much production from last season won't be around this coming year.
Five of the top eight players who had the most defensive snaps in 2019 won't be on the field for the Patriots in 2020. Sure, the team added some pieces in free agency (Beau Allen, Adrian Phillips) and the draft (Kyle Dugger, Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings), but that's a huge amount of talent turnover in one season.
A piece on ProFootballTalk put the Patriots' turnover in even more stark terms:
New England Patriots
Football Outsiders Almanac calculated that the Patriots had lost more production on defense from 2019 to 2020 than any team since at least 2002-2003 — and that calculation was done before Hightower and Chung opted out.
So while the most obvious roster turnover in New England will be at quarterback in 2020, with either Cam Newton or Jarrett Stidham taking over for franchise cornerstone Tom Brady, the defensive turnover could be even more obvious.
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