What Happens If the Patriots Lose Darrelle Revis, Devin McCourty?

Thoughts of losing both safety Devin McCourty and cornerback Darrelle Revis to free agency have made New England Patriots fans nearly as inconsolable as Bob Wiley, but fortunately, the team is taking baby steps to getting itself in position to keep both key players. 

The good news is, moving on from nose tackle Vince Wilfork cleared $8 million in cap space, according to Bill Barnwell of Grantland.com. The bad news is, the Patriots are still about $4.7 million over the $143 million salary cap, according to OverTheCap.com. 

So, they must face the very real possibility that they will lose one or both of their key free-agent defensive backs. That puts the team in a bind as tight as a boa constrictor, with two giant holes in its secondary and no money to make up for it. 

The Patriots could also turn to their younger options on the roster; they have drafted five defensive backs over the past three years, and it may be time for those players to show what they're made of.

But it's not about a hole being filled. Players can't be expected to come in and simply replicate the roles of players like Revis and McCourty, who have a very particular set of skills—skills they've acquired over a long career, skills that make them a nightmare for opposing offenses. 

In-House Options

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As mentioned earlier, the Patriots have been loading up on defensive backs in the draft for years. Most of those players have not panned out exactly as the Patriots had hoped; that's why they went out and signed Revis last year. But if the Patriots feel that any of those players have taken the necessary steps forward to becoming a starting-caliber cornerback, they may be less inclined to panic over losing Revis. 

A look at the depth chart, however, does not reveal many players who have proven themselves ready to assume a full-time starting role. 

Player	Ht	Wt	Exp
Darrelle Revis*	5'11"	198	8
Brandon Browner	6'4"	221	5
Malcolm Butler	5'11"	190	1
Kyle Arrington	5'10"	190	6
Logan Ryan	5'11"	195	2

At cornerback, Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler appear closest to starting-caliber. Alfonzo Dennard had been a starter in the past, but he was a healthy scratch at times in 2014, with the coaching staff turning to Butler more and more, favoring him for his special teams ability. 

Barring any other moves, the Patriots would probably hold a competition in training camp between Ryan, Butler and Dennard to see which of the three would start.

Player	Ht	Wt	Exp
Devin McCourty*	5'10"	195	5
Patrick Chung	5'11"	210	6
Duron Harmon	6'1"	205	2
Tavon Wilson	6'0"	215	3
Nate Ebner	6'0"	210	3

At safety, it's going to be up to Duron Harmon or Tavon Wilson to step up as a starter at free safety. Harmon appeared to be in line to start next to McCourty last year, but he lost that battle to Patrick Chung in training camp. He's been pegged as a strong safety in the past but could also play some free safety. 

Out-of-House Options

Of course, if the Patriots don't have the money to bring back Revis and/or McCourty, they're not going to have the money to be big players in the free-agent market, either.

Cornerbacks Brandon Flowers (San Diego Chargers) and Kareem Jackson (Houston Texans) could be available as second-tier options, while Nate Allen (Philadelphia Eagles) and Rahim Moore (Denver Broncos) appear to be the best second-tier options at safety.

If it's developmental prospects the Patriots want, they may be pleased with what they find in the 2015 crop of cornerbacks but disappointed with what they find at safety.

LSU's Jalen Collins and UConn's Byron Jones look like solid fits for the Patriots defense. They both have the requisite height, weight and speed to match up on the perimeter with NFL receivers and to challenge them in man coverage. 

The problem with outside options is that they have to learn the defense. Revis picked it up rather quickly, and he is a quick study; McCourty has five years of experience in the system.

That being said, the Patriots may not even be running the same scheme. 

Schematic Changes

Over the past three seasons, the Patriots have transitioned from a zone-heavy defensive scheme to a scheme that utilizes primarily man coverage. That's because they've had the personnel to execute it. In 2012, they traded for Aqib Talib and inserted Alfonzo Dennard as a starting cornerback. Talib and Dennard remained the lockdown duo for the 2013 season, and Logan Ryan began to emerge with a strong rookie season.

After losing Talib to free agency last offseason, it appeared the Patriots may have to make some changes, but they quickly added Revis and were able to maintain their defensive philosophy of the previous two seasons. They even enhanced it, with the addition of Brandon Browner.

And McCourty was the glue that held it all together. The deep safety in Cover 1 and Cover 3, McCourty not only covered up all the holes in deep coverage, but he called the signals for the secondary, making sure players were looking for the right things and were aware of their assignments on a given play.

McCourty's physical skill set would be hard enough to replicate, but his knowledge of the defense would be even more difficult to replace. From a scheme standpoint, losing McCourty could mean much more Cover 2; McCourty was revered for his ability to recognize a play and get there before the ball arrived, but it's much harder to get to the sideline from the middle of the field than it is from the hash marks.

The Patriots got lucky that Revis became available last season, because he is arguably the only player in the league who could be used as a matchup piece at cornerback in the same way that Talib was used. Revis' presence allowed the Patriots to mix up their defensive scheme from week to week, and even from series to series.

The Patriots will probably still be multiple on defense, with or without Revis and McCourty. They just may not be as effective at it.