Bill Belichick has a hankering for castoff linebackers.

Is he an outstanding athlete but an underachiever? Throw him into Belichick’s linebacker lab.

Has he played a handful of positions — and perhaps one in particular that has been disadvantageous to his strengths? It’s time for some of Belichick’s experiments.

Does he have borderline crippling versatility? *Belichick taps his finger tips maniacally*

What do I mean by crippling versatility? Some players have been asked to do so many things in the NFL — whether because of scheme changes or a lack of fit — that they’ve never really gotten good at one thing. Most teams leave them for dead. Belichick sees an opportunity to channel Victor Frankenstein (or Maester Qyburn, if you prefer). He’s ready to bring their careers to life.

The Patriots have cycled through a handful of linebackers in recent years. The trend seemed to begin with Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins. Neither player was a castoff, per se. The Patriots, however, picked Hightower with their second first round pick after Chandler Jones. They put Hightower off once. Jamie Collins got passed on by almost every NFL team at least once — except the Patriots.

But the trend began in a more significant way in the post-Collins era. And Belichick’s mad scientist is especially exposed, in part, because the Patriots are still looking for Collins’ replacement. Belichick is trying his best to piece together a substitute, but he’s sometimes scraping the bottom of the barrel to do so.

In 2016, Belichick traded for Barkevious Mingo, signed Shea McClellin and traded for Kyle Van Noy. In 2017, he signed undrafted rookie Harvey Langi.

They’re linebackers?! It’s said with emphasis to compensate for the uncertainty.

Mingo was a top 10 pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. The Cleveland Browns tried him on the edge, where he floundered. They moved him to linebacker, where he was better but still unable to carve out a role on the team. So the Browns moved on. I repeat: the Browns moved on.

McClellin was a first round pick who got caught in the shifts in regime with the Chicago Bears. Like Mingo, he was drafted as a defensive end, but eventually moved to linebacker. McClellin wasn’t as big of a bust as Mingo as a pass-rusher, but he nonetheless landed at linebacker, where he produced the worst kind of viral highlights. Some NFL fans may remember the vine where he collapses in coverage.

Van Noy was an inevitable cut for the Detroit Lions, which is how the Patriots acquired him on the cheap. He was something of a pass-rusher at BYU, and tallied 13 sacks in his junior season in college. In the NFL, he figured mostly as a linebacker, which is what he’s played in New England. He has been the closest thing to Collins.

And finally, there’s Langi. He had a positional journey that reverses the previous linebackers in Belchick’s football lab. Langi played middle linebacker before moving to the defensive end and outside linebacker. His coaches hoped to improve his draft stock. The opposite happened.

Belichick has been doing his best with this group of oddities. He used a combination of Mingo, McClellin and Van Noy in 2016 and on special teams. Mingo, especially, was an iteration Frankenstein’s Monster that never seemed to respond to Belichick’s electricity. Mingo signed with the Colts this offseason after contributing almost solely on special teams with the Patriots. But McClellin and Van Noy found their places. Van Noy took the majority of Collins’ defensive snaps, and was able to fill in for Hightower when he was dealing with injuries.

Perhaps ironically, the two most cookie cutter linebackers are the ones who are most likely to start for New England in 201 7. Van Noy is competing with Elandon Roberts for the starting spot beside Hightower. Roberts, a 2016 sixth round pick who has thrived in New England, is an inside linebacker — always has been, always will be. But by putting Roberts in the middle, Hightower can play on the edge or at outside linebacker where he makes plays like his strip sack in Super Bowl LI, which changed the complexion of the game and help the Patriots win. Roberts’ biggest improvements need to come in coverage, and there’s some question as to whether he has the athleticism to do so, which is why Belichick is back at the lab. He’s tinkering with his newest linebacker in Langi — while keeping an eye on the adjustments he’s made on Van Noy and McClellin.

Why does Belichick do this? He sees the players as a financial opportunity and a coaching challenge. Belichick thinks he can breath new life into their careers. The risk is also often minimal. Mingo cost a fifth round pick. McClelin signed for three years and $9 millions. Van Noy came to New England with a seventh round pick for a sixth round pick. Langi is making $115,000, which is a lot for an undrafted free agent but almost nothing in the grand scheme of the salary cap.

Why else does Belichick do this? Because he loves flexing his experimental genius with defensive players. And above all, he loves linebackers!?