Patriots Defensive Tackle Says Texans ‘got the Best Player in the Draft’

Davon Godchaux

Getty Davon Godchaux

T

he New England Patriots were scheduled to take a pick late in the draft but one player was happy with one of the first selections of Thursday night.

The Houston Texans selected Derek Stingley Jr. with the third overall pick and Davon Godchuax was happy with the selection.

Former Patriot and current general manager of the Houston Texans has quite the player in Godchaux’s eyes.

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The LSU Connection

While they weren’t teammates, Godchaux and Stingley both went to LSU. Godchaux played three seasons for the Tigers and racked up 139 tackles and 12.5 sacks.

After a slow start to his college career, Godchaux really stood out in his junior year where he recorded 62 tackles (8.5 for a loss), 6.5 sacks, and two fumble recoveries.

Unlike Stingley, it took a while for Godchaux to be drafted. The defensive tackle was drafted with the 178th overall pick by the Miami Dolphins in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Godchaux went on to play four seasons with the Dolphins where he tallied 179 tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble.

Stingley had a superb start to his college career where he racked up 38 tackles and six interceptions. After that, he struggled with injuries and only played 10 games over the last two seasons.

Getting Back to New England

Godchaux had a career season with the Patriots in 2021 (his first in New England). The 27-year-old had 65 tackles, five QB hits, and a sack with the Patriots.

The defensive tackle will continue to be a part of the front seven as New England’s defense goes under a slight overhaul. While players such as Deatrich Wise and Lawrence Guy will be returning to the defensive line, the defensive unit as a whole has some new faces.

Mack Wilson will be a player that Godchaux interacts with a lot. The Patriots traded Chase Winovich to the Cleveland Browns and part of the package in return was Wilson. In three seasons with the Browns, Wilson racked up 163 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble.

New England’s front seven will be a key part of the defense. With the likes of Matthew Judon, Ja’Whaun Bentley, and Wilson at linebacker, the Patriots will be able to pressure opposing offenses. If Wise, Guy, and Godchaux can cause chaos as well, New England’s defense will be in a good place.

New England also added Malcolm Butler and Jabrill Peppers to the secondary. While it would’ve been great to add a player such as Stingley to the secondary, it would have taken a massive trade for the Patriots to land in a scenario where they could have taken the cornerback.

Hopefully, Patriots fans will feel the same way about whoever New England ends up selecting in this year’s draft. The Patriots have been linked to linebackers such as Nakobe Dean or also offensive linemen such as Zion Johnson.

But Godchaux was excited to see a fellow LSU player land in the top three of this year’s draft and Texans fans will hope that he lives up to the hype set by Godchaux.

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