Kyle Van Noy, 26 (3/26/1991)
Patriot OLB, 2016-
Uniform #53
Van Noy was a versatile high school athlete who lettered in four sports. His senior year he had ten tackles for a loss, six forced fumbles, 14 sacks and a pick six. Van Noy also caught 35 passes 731 yards and 18 touchdowns. After leading his team to a 14-0 record and state championship he was recruited by more than a dozen colleges, choosing BYU.
At Brigham Young he registered 226 total tackles, 62 tackles for loss, 26 sacks, 17 forced fumbles and seven interceptions. The Detroit Lions drafted him in the second round of the 2014 draft, 40th overall. Things got off to a bad start almost immediately.
Van Noy suffered the first injury of his football career in training camp. After
undergoing surgery he missed the first eight games of the season. Upon return he was used sparingly. Van Noy was on the field for a mere
54 defensive snaps the final nine games of the season (including a playoff game) and finished the season with six total tackles.
The writing was on the wall. At the following year’s combine Detroit GM Martin Mayhew had this to say when asked about Van Noy’s future:
“That’s totally up to him. He can have a huge role if he has a great offseason and plays great. If he doesn’t have a great offseason, and doesn’t play great, then his role won’t be as big.”
“I think a lot of times with young players, not him specifically, but they come from a place where they’ve been great players and super stars and then they come into a new team and now they have to work their way up and play special teams and do things they didn’t do in college. Sometimes that’s an adjustment. But really, it’s totally up to him as to how he performs and how he is feeling and all those things.”
A
Detroit beat writer speculates that due to injuries to DeAndre Levy and other Lion linebackers, Van Noy was asked to do too much too soon. After seven games with varying roles Van Noy was traded to New England on October 25, 2016. The Patriots gave up virtually nothing for the linebacker. The Pats only had to move down slightly (24 spots) very late in the draft for his services. Detroit received just a sixth round pick (215th overall) in exchange for Van Noy and a seventh rounder (239th overall).
Van Noy began his tenure with the Pats as a healthy scratch while learning a new defense. Just over three months after being unceremoniously dumped, he was celebrating a Superbowl victory. By season end Van Noy was on the field for
as much as 82% of the snaps, and recorded six tackles and half a sack in the playoffs.