FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- When Bill Belichick was hired as New England Patriots coach in 2000, he made it clear through his initial first-round draft choices what type of defense he intended to run.
It was a base 3-4, and Belichick invested top picks in defensive linemen Richard Seymour (2001, No. 6 overall), Ty Warren (2003, No. 13 overall) and Vince Wilfork (2004, No. 21 overall), in part because those players uniquely fit the two-gapping scheme and projected to be on the field for the majority of snaps.