Report: Patriots 'Doing a Ton of Research' on Alabama LB Terrell Lewis
One of the biggest needs for the New England Patriots heading into the 2020 NFL Draft is linebacker. Losing Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins and Elandon Roberts to free agency leaves a serious void at that position, which makes it very likely that New England will select at least one player from that position with one of the 12 draft picks they have this year.
While there have been multiple reports of New England holding pre-draft video conferences with certain prospects at the linebacker position, one linebacker the Patriots have reportedly "been doing a ton of research on" ahead of the draft is Alabama's Terrell Lewis.
"The Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots have been doing a ton of research on Lewis, getting in contact with his high school and college coaches," Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle wrote.
Lewis has the potential to be drafted in the first round, but durability has been pegged as an issue for the Alabama product, which could cause him to not be drafted until Day 2. He missed 10 games in 2017 because of a torn elbow ligament, and suffered a torn ACL in 2018 that forced him to miss the entire season. However, in 2019 he was able to display his ability as an edge defender, recording 11.5 tackles for loss, six sacks and 31 tackles in 10 games, which is why an NFL team may not let him fall to Day 2.
Because of his ability off the edge, Lewis would seemingly fill the void left by Collins in New England's linebacking corps. However, if the Patriots wanted to draft Lewis, they may have to do so with the 23rd overall pick since they do not have a selection in the second round of the 2020 draft. But the possibility does exist for New England to trade one or multiple of their three 3rd round picks - along with eight of their other picks after the third round - in order to acquire an early Day 2 pick so they can draft the Alabama linebacker.
