The New England Patriots' defense struggled in their season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, surrendering 389 yards of offense to Geno Smith and company.
While Harold Landry showed out in his Patriots debut, recording 2.5 sacks, the rest of New England's defensive line was relatively quiet, allowing Smith to sit back and pick them apart en route to a 20-13 victory.
If the Patriots want to keep up in the loaded AFC, they're going to need some dogs flying off the edge to chase down the likes of Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson.
Patriots Trade Idea Lands Yetur Gross-Matos to Bolster Defensive Line
In a trade idea proposed by Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox, the Patriots could improve their pass rush by trading backup tight end Austin Hooper to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for former Penn State standout Yetur Gross-Matos.
"In this hypothetical scenario, the 49ers call the New England Patriots about backup tight end Austin Hooper. The 30-year-old saw just a single reception in Week 1 but caught 45 passes for 476 yards and three touchdowns last season," wrote Knox.
"Hooper also played under 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan during his rookie season with the Atlanta Falcons. He has a modest $2 million base salary that would be reasonable for a short-term rental."
With tight end George Kittle on injured reserve for at least the next month, San Francisco could really use the tight end depth and have plenty of bodies on their defensive line.
Gross-Matos, the 38th overall pick in the 202 NFL Draft, only played 17 snaps in the Niners' season opener against the Seattle Seahawks and could be expendable.
New England relies heavily on starting tight end Hunter Henry, who has already built up a solid rapport with second-year quarterback Drake Maye, and Hooper only received one target against the Raiders last week.
If the Patriots want to sacrifice offensive depth for some extra power in their pass rush, acquiring the former Nittany Lion would be a great place to start.