New England Patriots: Trey Flowers Emerging as a Star

One of the biggest surprises for the New England Patriots has been the performance of Trey Flowers, who leads the team in sacks.

It has been a great season for the New England Patriots, and it has also been a great season for defensive end Trey Flowers. Flowers was selected by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

As a rookie, Flowers played in just one game, and only totaled four snaps the entire season. On December 1st, a shoulder injury landed him on injured reserve, which ended his season. Despite basically not playing in his rookie season, Flowers has emerged as a young star of the Patriots’ defense. His success might come as a surprise to many, but not his teammate Dont’a Hightower.

“For him to be playing the way he’s playing, it doesn’t surprise me at all,” said linebacker Dont’a Hightower, one of the team’s captains to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. “I’m impressed, absolutely, but it’s expected from a guy who works as hard as he does.”

While his rookie season was difficult, it did help Flowers grow as a player. Now, he looks like a big piece of the future for the Patriots.

“Obviously last year was a hard year for me,” Flowers said to Reiss. “To be able to come back and just be prepared and help my team win is definitely a blessing.”

This season, Flowers led the Patriots with 7.5 sacks. In big games against the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens, Flowers really shined. In the win against Denver, Flowers totaled two sacks in the game, as he was a big part of the win.

Now, Flowers will hope to bring his success in the regular season into the playoff for the Patriots. Getting pressure on the quarterback is an important thing in the playoffs. In the playoffs, Flowers will be expected to do so for the Patriots.