The Patriots went back to a familiar place to find the first of their third-round picks in the 2020 draft. New England drafted Alabama linebacker Anfernee Jennings with their No. 87 pick. Once again, Belichick went with a player that he probably received some inside information on from his good friend, Alabama coach Nick Saban.
Jennings played in four years at Alabama after a redshirt freshman season. With the Crimson Tide, the linebacker totaled 193 tackles, 33.5 of them for a loss, and 14.5 sacks.
The newest linebacker joins a group that features newly drafted Josh Uche, as well as Shilique Calhoun, Brandon Copeland, Chase Winovich, and John Simon.
Patriots fans should know these four things about their newest addition to the linebacker core.
Jennings has one Crimson Tide teammate in New England.
Jennings and Damien Harris were both with the Crimson Tide from 2015-2018. While they didn’t play the same side of the ball, it’s still nice to have some level of familiarity in a new organization. It also won’t be a huge jump in coaching discipline from Saban to Belichick. It might even be easier in some aspects.
Jennings is a different type of linebacker than Uche.
The Patriots took Uche in the second round as an outside linebacker and then Jennings in the third. Just because they double dipped doesn’t mean they play the exact same position. Uche is really good at doing a little bit of everything, but he can be a really solid pass rusher at the NFL level. Jennings will be setting the edge. He’s good against the run. Jennings and Uche could split reps depending on the situation.
Jennings had a serious knee injury in college.
In the college football playoffs of the 2017 season, Jennings suffered a torn PCL against Clemson. This injury also caused serious blood clots and artery damage. While Jennings did come back and finish his college career well enough to be a third-round pick, that’s something to keep in the back of the mind.
Jennings got a draft comparison to Kyle Van Noy.
Many analysts compared Jennings’ game to that of Kyle Van Noy. His versatility speaks to that. Watching him play, it’s easy to see that Jennings can become a legitimate piece for New England. If Jennings can play like Van Noy did with the Patriots, then all Patriots fans should count the draft pick as a win.
