New England’s defensive line received a massive boost last offseason when the Patriots addressed it in free agency through signings like Matt Judon and Davon Godchaux, as well as the draft selection of Christian Barmore. These new additions to the team immediately improved what had been a lackluster defensive line the year before into one of the league’s better and more feared units, and clearly, Bill Belichick wants to keep it that way.
The Patriots used the second of their sixth-round selections in the 2022 NFL draft to select Sam Roberts, a 6-foot-5, 292-pound defensive tackle out of Northwest Missouri State. Although he played football at the Division II level, Roberts ended his collegiate career very decorated, having won a slew of awards such as first-team DCAA All-American and second-team AP All-American, and was an explosive factor on a No. 2 nationally ranked Bearcat defense, finishing the season with 18 tackles for loss.
