How Do Dont'a Hightower, Chandler Jones Fit into New England Patriots Defense?

The New England Patriots showed enough conviction in not just one, but two prospects to buck their usual trend of trading down by moving up to take them.

Not only do trade-ups typically work out favorably for the team that makes the selection, but the Patriots didn't have to give up much for either trade, surrendering only a third-round pick to move up from 27 to 21 and a fourth-round pick to move up from 31 to 25.

The question now is how their two pieces fit into the defense.

The Patriots ran a 4-3 front in 2011, a big change-up from their typical 3-4 alignment. That was due to a lockout-shortened offseason and workout program, but with a sense of normalcy restored to the offseason, the common consensus was that the Patriots would revert to their old reliable 3-4 defensive scheme.

These picks may have pushed the pendulum back toward the base 4-3, with Jones looking more like a prototypical 4-3 defensive end and Hightower having the feel of a SAM linebacker, but there's wiggle room with both.

Since the team doesn't have a true "base" defense, they search for players who can contribute in various ways and find different ways to get on the field to maximize their value.

The two defensive picks shared something in common, according to Bill Belichick.

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Belichick on Hightower and Jones: "Both players have some versatility. We'll figure out what works best for us and them."

— Mary Paoletti (@Mary_Paoletti) April 27, 2012"

The Patriots love versatility in their players, especially on defense. 

At first blush, Chandler Jones looks more like a 4-3 defensive end than the type of player capable of converting to 3-4 outside linebacker. There have been questions about his athleticism, but those questions were put to bed by several gushing reports that came out about Jones on Thursday.

From Todd McShay of ESPN:

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He's tall at 6'5". He's up to 266 pounds. Just a year ago he was 245 pounds. Again, he's not that elite edge rusher, but in a defense that plays four-man front, three-man front, likes to be versatile, move guys around, I think Chandler Jones has a chance to develop into the star of this unit and I think he's going to be one of the real surprises from the 2012 draft.

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From Mike Mayock and Michael Lombardi of NFL Network, per Rotoworld:

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Mayock: I'm going to make a statement: Three years from now, I'm gonna say Chandler Jones is the best defensive player to come out of this draft.

Lombardi: I think what Mike Mayock said is right. He is the best defensive player in the draft.

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Likewise, Hightower is a jack of all trades. He's good at a lot of things, but not great at anything. That makes him a tough projection at the NFL level.

From James Christensen of NEPatriotsDraft.com:

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Dynamic pass-rusher when asked to play on the edge; best fit as a 3-4 SOLB, but can play 4-3 SLB, 3-4 ILB and even rush as a 4-3 DE in sub-packages.

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And from Alen Dumonjic of The Score:

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Hightower’s abilities as a pass rusher and an inside linebacker leave many wondering if he has great versatility or is just a jack of all trades and a master of none. This also puts his value in question, which in turn brings up the question of whether or not he’s a first-round worthy talent.

I view him as a classic thumping, 3-4 inside linebacker who’s likely to serve as a nickel pass rusher on passing downs in the NFL.

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So, while he can do multiple things, he won't jump off the page doing anything in particular.

Matt Miller compared Jones to Giants defensive linemen Osi Umenyiora, and compared Hightower to 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman. The commonality between the two: Both are versatile enough to play every down and to line up at multiple spots.

The Patriots went into the draft looking for players who could find ways to contribute and get on the field, and they found two of them. In that sense, the Patriots draft philosophy hasn't changed at all.

Even if their strategy of acquiring them changed quite drastically.

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