Patriots linebacker Cameron McGrone has high hopes for 2022
The off-season has only reinforced an obvious reality in Foxboro: if you’re calling for improvements at linebacker, those would have to come internally.
It’s fair to wonder just how much the Patriots will end up getting out of those in-house options, but it’s clear that they are going with a youth movement. And it won’t come without risk, because one of the key pieces of that transition will be second-year pro Cameron McGrone.
Speed and versatility matters more than ever at the linebacker position, and it’s populated around the NFL with players who don’t project as typical Bill Belichick players. The Patriots have long favored size, power, and play strength, particularly on the inside, where Dont’a Hightower anchored the defense for a decade. They still have that, in the form of the newly extended Ja’Whaun Bentley. But the drafting of McGrone in 2021 was an early sign that the Pats’ philosophy has already morphed.
McGrone missed his entire rookie season as his recovery from ACL surgery spilled into the fall. But he was able to return to the practice field late in the season and get some NFL-level work under his belt. Speaking to reporters after the team’s first open practice of 2022, McGrone spoke about the value of working with his more experienced teammates as a rookie.
“It definitely helped a lot, spending all that time in the rooms with the older guys, watching film, just learning there,” McGrone said. “Then to be able to put it on the field for just a couple weeks toward the end of the season was really good, to get my feet back, and just getting to it. And now, coming in with that knowledge, I’m just really excited.”
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Standing at 6-foot-1 and 236 pounds, McGrone profiles as closer to the shifty, explosive inside linebackers that have become more common in recent years. If all goes well and McGrone hits his ceiling, or even blows through it, he could be the Patriots’ version of Darius Leonard or Devin White. Even a poor man’s version of those players would bode well for a defense that has lacked explosiveness at inside linebacker in recent years.
McGrone certainly puts the work in. He detailed his off-field routines during his rookie season, which included extensive film study from the comfort of his home. That allowed him to hone the finer details.
“Since you’re not gonna be in the game, you can really look at the little things, help your teammates out, because they might not be paying attention to everything like that,” McGrone said. “So, I got to spend a lot more time watching film on the couch while they’re out playing the game, and just really dissect from that point of view. With all that knowledge, I’m really ready to put it back out on the field myself.”
Patriots coaches have echoed McGrone’s excitement. Outside linebackers coach Steve Belichick spoke highly of McGrone when asked about him in a video conference earlier in the off-season.
“It was exciting to have him on the field last year for those couple weeks before he reverted to IR or PUP,” Belichick said (via Zack Cox at NESN.com). “When he was practicing, it was really exciting to see him out there. One thing that I noticed is that all the other guys on the field had been playing football for months, and then he had been coming off of a year or whatever of not playing football, and he really didn’t look in any sort of way out of place on the field, which I thought was impressive.”
Matt Groh, the Patriots’ new director of player personnel, took the extra step of basically counting McGrone as an extra rookie with that much more experience than the others. It’s not the least bit surprising that Groh would also be excited about McGrone, but it’s telling that top coaches and execs in the organization continue to name-drop him.
“Excited to see Cam McGrone was able to get on the field a little bit last year, excited to see him be in an expanded role,” Groh told reporters after day 2 of the 2022 draft. “He’s kind of an additional draft pick. You can kind of put him along there with the three guys that we’ve been able to add here today, along with some of the other guys from last year. That all kind of counts to getting younger, getting faster, being a tough team.”
Between McGrone and his former Michigan teammate Josh Uche expanding their roles, the Patriots certainly have speed and youth to lean on in their new-look linebacking corps. That may come at the expense of the kind of inconsistency in execution and production that tends to come with less experienced players. But regardless of how guys like McGrone and Uche ultimately perform, the Patriots are clearly looking toward them to deliver some much-needed speed to their defense.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. You can also email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
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