New England Patriots: 5 offseason needs
By John Buhler
4. Space-eating nose tackle
Though the Patriots do have ample cap space, do they need to spend a bulk of it retooling their defensive front-seven. New England will be seeing several key players hitting free agency. One of those guys is defensive tackle Alan Branch.
In his third year with the Patriots and his 10th in the NFL, Branch was literally a huge reason that the New England was able to get to and win Super Bowl LI over the Falcons. He took up multiple blockers at nose tackle, allowing his front-seven teammates to make plays in run stuffing.
Overall, this was the best year of Branch’s NFL career, but he is 32 years old. Branch made $2,750,000 in 2016 and could be looking at a slight pay bump on the open market. Re-upping with Branch for another year or two could be the right call for New England, but it is time that the Patriots look for long-term solutions at nose tackle.
Defensive tackle is a position that New England will likely address both in the 2017 NFL Draft and in free agency. Branch came in as a cheaper version of Vince Wilfork three years ago. Could Belichick be looking for another guy like that in his late 20s or early 30s to satisfy their nose tackle needs?
Realistically, expect the Patriots to bring Branch back on a one or two-year deal. He’ll get paid a little bit more than he made on his last contract strictly because New England has a cap room and a need at the position. However, if they don’t use one of their middle round draft picks on a nose tackle, something’s up in Foxborough.