Big Spender Bill Can't Stop, Won't Stop, Signing Free Agents The Belichick Whisperer Asked For

Holy moly, can GM Bill just take a moment to give a guy some time to breathe? He's spending money today like a drunken sailor on leave. Which, given his family background at Navy and the fact he's been working on this offseason since New Years, is probably a pretty spot on analogy. 

I just didn't think he'd be signing so many guys so soon. Not in my wildest dreams. And the way he's checking off items on the Legal Tampering Day Wish List I posted today, you'd almost think he read it. Or that somehow I've got insider knowledge into what his plan is. Or, simply that I am The Belichick Whisperer (tm0, who understands how he thinks and who feels his feelings. 

And you wouldn't be far off with any option. I mean, did I or did I not say I wanted Jonnu Smith as a more reasonable tight end signing than Hunter Henry? And BOOM, the package arrives on my door. I also said this earlier about Matthew Judon, even though at the time I wrote it, Shaquil Barrett was still on the market:

Don't get me wrong, if I didn't want to see Barrett in New England I'd belong in a nursing home. It's just that I think they've got a lot of young pass rushers who have yet to establish themselves as every down DEs (Chase Winovich, Josh Uche), and would rather save billions and get someone who they can count on against the run. ...

A true 3-down player who can also get after a passer, Judon is sort of a second tier edge player in this class. I'm a little leery of anyone coming out of Baltimore that he might be a product of their system and not fit as well in New England (see Adalius Thomas). But he'd be an upgrade on the outside for a team that struggled to set the edge over the last couple of seasons.

And almost immediately ...

And so what has GM Bill given me in fulfillment of my wish? A Pro Bowler who, at 6-3, 261 lb, fits the size profile the Patriots defense requires on the outside. Someone who, in 16 games last year, including the playoffs, posted seven sacks, 21 QB hits, and 46 total pressures, including the five hurries and one sack he put on Josh Allen in the Ravens Divisional Round loss to Buffalo. And he's got the versatility necessary in a scheme that doesn't allow edge players to simply chase after the quarterback like a greyhound after an electronic rabbit. According to Pro Football Focus' count, Judon had 188 snaps against the run, rushed the passer for 337 and dropped into coverage on 107 others. 

Jackpot.

Still, Belichick was far from done. In that great, American, capitalist tradition when someone is in the throes of rampant consumerist spending, once he signed Judon he said, "But wait! There's more!"

While Mills wasn't on my radar the way Jonnu Smith and Matthew Judon were, he seems to be a classic Belichick type defensive back. A guy who can be a four down player, and line up anywhere in the secondary on any of downs 1 through 3, depending on the matchup. For instance, in one game this past season, he played 20 snaps as an in the box safety, 21 as the slot corner, three as the wide corner, and 20 at free safety. A few weeks later, he had eight reps in the box and 65 out wide. Then he took snaps up on the line of scrimmage in no less than 13 games, including twice of seven snaps or more. He had two sacks among his nine pressures and 58 tackles, plus one interception. And he strikes me as one of those smart, versatile, positionless players in an increasingly positionless NFL that Belichick sees and realizes he'll find a place for him on the field and figure out the details as they go.

So for anyone who had convinced themselves that GM Bill was going to be all passive and sit around waiting for bargains, wrap your eyelids around these flavor pops:

And they are far from done. Strap yourself in. There's still many more millions to spend and this handsomely coiffed devil is not going to let The Belichick Whisperer down: