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Who Will Replace Chandler Jones On The Patriots Pass Rush?

By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots defensive line is a situation worth watching as training camp gets underway, particularly on the edge. That's because it is the positional group that suffered the biggest losses on the team (Tom Brady suspension notwithstanding) in the offseason after the team traded Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals.

They should be able to field at least a serviceable replacement for Jones' production, but it remains a legit question mark entering the start of camp.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not spouting doom-and-gloom for the Patriots pass rush just because they subtracted Jones. Yes, he racked up a career-high 12.5 sacks in 15 games in 2015, but ten of them came in his first nine games before falling off the face of the Earth in his final six. Seven-and-a-half of his sacks came in a five-game stretch.

That's not to say that sacks are the end-all-be-all of ability to pressure opposing quarterbacks, but Jones was pretty much the Invisible Man down the stretch of the season. He finished his four-year Patriots career having performed at a very high level in isolated stretches but never hitting that elite, unstoppable gear that New England hoped for when the team drafted him in the first round in 2012.

Can't say it would be hard to replace Jones' disappearing act in the second half of last season and pretty much every big game the Patriots played with him on the field. But those 12.5 sacks certainly helped the Patriots in the first half of the season and the team may especially need that kind of production even more in the first four games of 2016 when they could be locked in low-scoring battles.

Going beyond the sacks, Jones' mere presence on the defensive line helped other guys step up - is there another guy on this year's roster who has the talent to command that kind of attention from opposing offenses?

Chandler Jones, Jabaal Sheard - Divisional Round - Kansas City Chiefs v New England Patriots
Chandler Jones and Jabaal Sheard (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

The good news is, they have added several new players in the past two years with the potential to play at a high level in Jones' role. Jabaal Sheard was arguably the defensive line's most complete player in 2015, recording eight sacks while consistently pressuring quarterbacks into rushing throws and also making an impact in the running game. The big question mark is opposite Sheard on the other end of the line, where the team has plenty of new players who could either rotate or have someone emerge in the role of generating pressure off the edge.

There's the two 2015 draft picks, third-rounder Geneo Grissom and fourth-rounder Trey Flowers. Grissom played limited snaps as a defensive end in his rookie year, but played in 15 games as a special teams contributor. He could easily lock up a special teams role but played with the third group of defensive ends in minicamp. Flowers, meanwhile, looks to improve upon a disappointing rookie season that showed brief glimpses of his pass-rushing ability but got cut slowed down (then ultimately cut short) by injuries.

Also in the mix are two of the Patriots' big free-agent signings, defensive end Chris Long from the Rams and linebacker Shea McClellin from the Bears. Long has been an edge rusher for most of his career so he will likely fill that type of role, but the question is how big of a workload he will have - Long is 31 years old and coming off two straight injury-shortened seasons. McClellin has mainly played inside linebacker, but the Patriots clearly love his versatility and he played plenty of defensive end in minicamp.

It remains unclear how the Patriots plan to fill the void left by Jones on the edge of the defensive line, but DL coach Brendan Daly told Paul Perillo of Patriots.com that he's excited about all of the additions. He cited McClellin as an example of how they always let new players develop and grow into their roles as camp goes along.

"Shea's a guy that played in a couple of different roles in Chicago over the last several years and I think that's something we always take an open-minded approach with and let their performance on the field dictate," said Daly.

If you're wondering about the answer as to who will replace Jones on the pass rush or how the Patriots plan to scheme the defensive front with all of their new faces, it appears that not even the Patriots know the answer to that - but it should come by the end of training camp. With plenty of new parts to install in the machine, how the Patriots build it will be a story worth following throughout training camp.

Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.

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