By John Sarianides

The Patriots acquired defensive end Kony Ealy and a third round pick from the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a second round pick. New England will only move down eight spots in the trade so they didn’t give up a lot in terms of draft position.

The 25 year old Ealy is entering his fourth season in the league. He is best remembered for his performance in Super Bowl 50 in which he recorded 3 sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception.

Outside of that performance however,  Ealy has not been able to put it together on a consistent basis. He only has 14 career regular season sacks. That is not great production for a player with elite pass rushing skills like Ealy. 

At 6-4 275, Ealy has the size and the length to be an effective five technique defensive end in the 4-3. Ealy will replace Jabaal Shread and should give the Patriots some much needed juice as a pass rusher. If the Patriots limit his responsibilities and allow him to just focus on getting after the quarterback, Ealy could be very good. 

Ealy will be a free agent after next season so he is essentially on a one year, prove it deal with the Patriots. He is a pass rusher so if Ealy puts it together and has a good season, he may price himself out of New England.

We will cross that bridge when we get there. For now, this is a great trade for the Patriots. If the light comes on and Ealy figures it out, he could be a very productive player and provide the Patriots with a much needed pass rusher.