New England Patriots Acquire Akeem Ayers, But Don’t Solve Run Defense Issues

By Connor Fulton @ConnorFultonRS on October 21, 2014

The New England Patriots have traded for fourth-year linebacker Akeem Ayers, formerly of the Tennessee Titans, to help strengthen a linebacking unit ailing from the loss of Jerod Mayo.

The Titans reportedly will trade Akeem Ayers to the Patriots pending a physical exam http://t.co/Q0uKH4eaEt pic.twitter.com/JfV1uVPTdB

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 21, 2014

On the surface, Ayers appears to be an ideal fit in the Patriots’ defense because he excels in both the 3-4 and the 4-3 schemes, bringing expertise in the pass rush. His speed, long arms and sure tackling ability ought to bolster the Patriots’ defense as a whole. All that is well and good, but Ayers isn’t the solution to the run defense issues that fans wanted.

At 6-foot-3, 254 pounds, Ayers is a carbon copy of another Patriots linebacker, Jamie Collins. It’s clear that the Pats like having speedy, athletic linebackers, but the acquisition of Ayers is puzzling in that he is not known as a run stopper. He could work out to be a useful asset in pass coverage, but Ayers lacks the beef needed to stop the bleeding against the run.

One of the main knocks on Ayers when he entered the league in 2011 was his tendency to get caught out of position on run plays. In addition, his lower body strength is a concern—one that can get exposed when teams run the ball his way.

It would have been wiser for the Pats to acquire a more traditional run stopper. However, it’s possible that they have faith in Darius Fleming to take a more central role in the linebacking corps without Mayo, and use Ayers primarily in passing situations.

While the trade of Ayers is intriguing, it is somewhat disappointing that the Patriots didn’t directly address the run defense issue.

Connor Fulton is a Patriots writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ConnorFultonRS, or find him on Google.