The New England Patriots fielded one of the most productive linebacker groups in all of football in 2019. Kyle Van Noy, John Simon and Chase Winovich formed a quality rotation at the edge/on-the-line positions; Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins were moved all over the place to create and regularly exploit favorable matchups; Ja’Whaun Bentley and Elandon Roberts served as rotational inside linebacker options playing exclusively off the ball.
The 2020 season looked drastically different, especially in the off-the-ball department. Not only did Collins and Roberts leave in free agency, the Patriots also lost Hightower to the Coronavirus opt-out list.