The Saints have found a use for some of the cap

space they created by restructuring quarterback Drew Brees‘ contract.Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the team has come to an agreement with defensive tackle Malcom Brown. It’s reportedly a three-year deal worth $15 million.Brown was a Patriots first-round pick in 2015 and won a pair of Super Bowl rings during his four years with the team. Brown appeared in 60 regular season games over that span and heads to New Orleans with 186 tackles Matthew Slater Jerseys 2019 , 8.5 sacks and a forced fumble on his career stat sheet.Sheldon Rankins, David Onyemata and Tyeler Davison led the Saints in playing time at defensive tackle last season. Davison is a free agent while Rankins tore his Achilles in the NFC title game and Onyemata faces a possible suspension after a marijuana possession citation, so Brown should find early playing time in his new home one way or another. The New England Patriots run defense played a terrible stretch from week 13-15 of the regular season, when they allowed the Minnesota Vikings White Devin McCourty Jerseys , Miami Dolphins, and Pittsburgh Steelers to run up and down the field.Well, whatever the Patriots did to fix that problem- a mix of schematic changes on the defensive line and improved play by the linebackers- worked out for the playoffs as New England just capped off one of the most impressive stretches of run defense in NFL history.The 2018 Patriots allowed 122 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns on 40 attempts (3.05 YPC) and those 122 yards mark the third-fewest allowed by a Super Bowl champion in NFL history.The 1986 New York Giants and the 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers allowed a mere 121 rushing yards in their journeys to winning the Super Bowl. That Steelers defense is one of the best in NFL history, while that Giants team featured a young defensive coordinator by the name of Bill Belichick.And then there’s the 2018 Patriots Devin McCourty Jerseys 2019 , edging out the historic 1985 Chicago Bears (125 rushing yards allowed). That’s some incredible company and the Patriots did it against some of the best rushing attacks in the NFL.The Los Angeles Chargers ranked 6th in rushing DVOA this year and the Kansas City Chiefs ranked 4th. The Los Angeles Rams ranked 1st by a wide margin. Chargers RB Melvin Gordon is a Pro Bowler and Rams RB Todd Gurley is a three-time All Pro. These three opponents ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in offensive DVOA, too.So while White Isaiah Wynn Jerseys , yes, the Patriots were able to build up a big lead against the Chargers and remove their rushing attack from the game plan, I would argue that the Patriots were able to build such a lead because the run defense executed at such a high level. In every game it felt like the run defense stuffed the opposition and forced second- and third-and-long situations, where the secondary could smother the receivers and the pass rush could disrupt the quarterback.This Patriots defense didn’t get a lot of credit this year. But they’ve cemented their position alongside the greats with one of the most impressive playoff runs in NFL history.