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For roughly the past day or so, the New England Patriots and their fans have been reeling as a result of the punishments handed down by the NFL resulting from the deflategate investigation. Despite all of the chaos, the Patriots still managed to sign an under-the-radar player Tuesday who could wind up being a sleeper for the team in 2015. That player is LB Dekoda Watson.
At first glance, Watson may seem like nothing more than a special teams contributor. After all, he has only recorded three sacks in his career to go along with 120 tackles in parts of six career seasons. However, those numbers are skewed for one very important reason. In those six seasons, Watson has played very sparingly, starting just seven games combined for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars. As a result, you simply cannot look at his stats in a vacuum as he has been nothing more than a rotational player to this point.
With that said, he has flashed some potential at times throughout his career despite those limited reps. The Patriots could be the team that helps him reach that potential. The reason for that is because the team has injury issues within their linebacking corps that could cause them to lean on a guy like Watson, at least initially. With Jerod Mayo coming off of injury, Dont’a Hightower on the shelf due to offseason shoulder surgery and Jamie Collins being only one man, the Patriots needed something in the way of insurance at the very least.
Watson, however, could potentially serve as a jack of all trades for the Patriots, not just merely an insurance policy. He’s fast, having run a 4.4-second 40-yard dash at his college pro day back in 2010. He’s young at only 27 years of age, he can make tackles in the run game, rush the passer, force and recover fumbles (having forced two and recovered four in his limited career) and he can also provide solid value as a special teamer. He may not be a household name, but Watson has the potential to play a role similar to what Hightower and Akeem Ayers did last season for the Patriots.
Will Gellman is a New England Patriots’ writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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