Well. Looks like the Patriots found themselves a linebacker. Ja’Whaun Bentley, the fifth round selection out of Purdue, has certainly looked the part thus far. He’s definitely not one of these new-wave, passing-league, 6-foot, 230 pound safeties wearing a linebacker’s number. He’s big. He’s a thick, guard-pressing 260 pounds — a frame that can do the job in any era. And he’s planted himself right in the middle of this revamped Patriots defense alongside another big man, Patriots captain Dont’a Hightower. That makes for the kind of 1-2 big-body punch at inside linebacker that’s a relative rarity in today’s NFL.



Somehow, some way, this guy got brushed past in most of the offseason assessments of the Patriots newcomers. But he’s made people pay attention with his play. All the chatter about concerns over his pass coverage ability and athleticism seem months past ridiculous. He’s now got 51 regular season NFL...