It Is What It Is » The Patriots and their continuing search for coverage linebackers

This is an underrated need of the offseason for the Pats, and Christopher Price does a good job of laying it all out. Though I will say I wish Mayo showed more of a jump in coverage ability, I think that’s still the weakest point of his game, which is surprising given his speed.

While Mayo has consistently shown an ability to work well in coverage over the course of his career (he had three passes defensed and a pick in 2012), the one to really watch this year could be Hightower. While he did have his rookie moments, he did show enough over the course of his first season in the NFL that could lead you to believe that he can contribute on a regular basis. To that point, PFF had him at 3.1 in pass coverage as a rookie — that was second-best among all New England linebackers in 2012, trailing only Mayo’s 5.6.