The New England Patriots lost their last link on defense to their previous Super Bowl teams and 2007 undefeated regular season unit with the release of veteran Vince Wilfork. Wilfork was the Patriots’ first round draft pick in 2004 and was the anchor of their defense the past decade. He played 818 snaps on defense last year and his production as a run-stuffer will be hard to replace.
New England spent their last two first round draft picks on interior defensive linemen preparing for this contingency. In 2014 it was Dominique Easley being taken with their top pick after he fell in the first round due to knee injuries.