MORSE: Patriots Secondary Analysis, Comings and Goings
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The Patriots Secondary has some questions that need to be answered. They limped to the finish line last season with a myriad of injuries.
Christian Gonzalez was hurt in game 4 and lost for the season. In that short window of play, Gonzalez was the Defensive Rookie of the Month. He has the potential of being a lock down cornerback and will be the Patriots number 1. The injury is in the past for Gonzalez, and he has been fully working out.
Who will be the other starter? Jonathan Jones seems like the likely choice, but he might be the slot corner. J Jones is coming back from undisclosed off-season surgery. He missed three games early in 2023 with an ankle injury and was hampered by a knee injury late in the season.
Alex Austin is 6’1” 198 lbs and looked good filling in at CB late last season. The former Buffalo Bills 2023 7th round draft pick was signed to the Texans Practice Squad after getting cut by Buffalo. The Texans released him, and the Patriots signed him to their Practice Squad. The Patriots elevated Austin for the final 7 games. He recorded nine tackles, two pass deflections and one interception for the Patriots last season. Austin played on 62 percent of the team’s defensive snaps and helped stabilize the banged-up secondary. During Patriots OTAs open to the media, Austin has been one of the most noticeable players.
Marcus Jones is back from a shoulder injury in week 2 of the 2023 season. Not only did they lose their Punt Returner, but he was also contributing as the slot corner. What will the Patriots get from Marcus this season?
Shaun Wade finally contributed to the defense in 2023. He played in 14 games and started 6 games last season. Wade is a big cornerback at 6’1” 195 lbs and contributed 26 tackles. The Patriots acquired Wade in a 2021 trade from the Ravens for a 7th Rd and 5th Rd picks. He was a 5th round pick by the Ravens in 2021. Wade will turn 26 this season and he may have turned the corner. He will compete with Austin for the starter position.
Isaiah Bolden was drafted in the 7th round last season to be a contributor on Special Teams. In the 2nd Pre-season game with the Packers, Bolden collided with teammate Calvin Munson and was immobilized. His injury was similar to that of Bills Damar Hamlin and shook-up players on both teams. The remainder of the game was suspended. Bolden was placed on season ending IR and missed all of 2023. By all accounts from OTAs, Bolden has been one of the fastest players in camp. He is expected to take the place of Matt Slater on Special Teams.
Azizi Hearn was an Undrafted Free Agent who signed with Las Vegas. The Patriots signed him to their Practice Squad after spending the 2023 Pre-Season with the Raiders. Hearn played at Arizona, Wyoming and UCLA during his college career. The 6’1″ 205 lb cornerback was never activated by the Patriots but was re-signed to a futures contract for 20204.
Marcellus Dial was selected by the Patriots in the 6th round pick (#180) this year. The 6’ 190 lbs CB out of South Carolina has similar traits to Shaun Wade. Dial had a 40” Vertical Leap at the Combine. His 4.46 40 times is good and his skill set may be more of a Slot Corner.
Kaleb Ford-Dement is an Undrafted Free Agent signee out of Texas State. The 5’11”. 173 # CB ran a surprising 4.5 40-yard dash, 6.80 3-cone drill and a 39.5 Vertical Jump at his Pro Day. He played at Washington State and Old Dominion prior to Texas State. At Old Dominion he had 13 pass breakups in 2021.
Mikey Victor is a big Corner out of Alabama State. The 6’2”, 205 lb corner ran a pedestrian 4.67 40-yard dash but ran a 6.82 3-cone drill. The 3-cone drill measures quickness and change of direction. He is an Undrafted Free Agent who played JUCO, then at UNLV and finally two years as a starter at Alabama State. He is known for his pass break ups using his size to bat away passes. Despite a good 3-cone time, he plays a little stiff. He may be better suited as a Strong safety.
I believe the Patriots still have a huge hole at Free Safety that they haven’t addressed since Devin McCourty retired. The Patriots like to play two or three Strong Safeties. With multiple strong safeties, they disguise the coverages, so the QB doesn’t know who the Free Safety is. This is a dangerous type of play because the QB can isolate a speedy WR against a Strong Safety. Kyle Dugger was burned often last year in this coverage.
Marte Mapu has battled an injury, which has slowed his development. I was very surprised to see him drafted as early as he was by the Patriots. He was not on my radar until the last few weeks before the draft. The hybrid Strong Safety/LB was a redundant player to what the Patriots already had in Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips and Jabrill Peppers. With Phillips’ release that gives Mapu an opportunity. Don’t be surprised to see Mapu play a Linebacker role in this upcoming season. In the OTAs Mapu has played well. Let’s hope he can take that to training camp when the pads come on.
Kyle Dugger was awarded a big contract. He is the type of player that Bill Belichick would have let walk over petty money. Dugger did not put-up big numbers last year and in fact was ranked 68th by Pro Football Focus. Entering 2024 PFF has him ranked 9th. This is what they had to say. “Dugger, who signed a four-year contract after being franchise-tagged earlier this offseason, played a career-high 1,116 snaps in 2023, but it was his lowest-graded season due to some coverage struggles. He earned a career-low 50.0 coverage grade after earning 73.0-plus marks in back-to-back seasons. Dugger somewhat made up for it with a career-high 79.6 run-defense grade, though.” Dugger was often asked to play Free Safety and just doesn’t have the instincts or coverage skills to play the position. He was beaten often over the top. Dugger is an in the box Strong Safety.
Jabrill Peppers had a great comeback season for the Patriots. He is ranked #11 Saftey by PFF. He is redundant to Duggers and Mapu. That leaves the Patriots without a Free Safety which is dangerous. Peppers finished 2023 with a top 5 ranking by PFF and a coverage grade of 83.2 as compared to Duggers 50.0 rating. This tells me that Peppers would be the better choice at Free-Safety. Peppers is known as a big hitter and strong run supporter.
Joshua Bledsoe has had a tough time getting any playing time with the Patriots since getting drafted in 2021 out of Missouri in the 6th round (#188). The 6’ 0” 204 lbs Safety missed his entire 2021 rookie season with an injury. The Patriots drafted him knowing he was injured. In 2022 he played in only 3 games with no tackles. He was waived at the cutdown day at the end of August and signed by the Patriots to their Practice Squad. In December he was elevated to the 53-man roster and saw action in only 1 game. Bledsoe is another in the box safety.
Jaylin Hawkins was signed as a futures contract by the Patriots last year when he wasn’t re-signed by the LA Chargers. Hawkins, a Strong Safety, was a 4th round pick (#134) by Atlanta in 20221. At California he was a 4-year starter who started 38 games and accumulated 156 tackles and 10 Interception in his career.
Dell Pettus in a 6-year career played in 61 games for Troy. The hybrid Free Safety/Slot Corner only had 1 Interception in his career and ran a 4.51 40-yard dash at his Pro Day. The longshot Undrafted Free Agent is the only true Free Safety on the roster.
There are two Free Agents still available that could help the Patriots. Justin Simmons (30) is winding down a terrific career and is the only legitimate Free Safety available. The Boston College product has played 8 seasons since being drafted in the 2016 draft by Denver in 3rd round (#98). Last year for Denver he had 70 tackles and 3 INTs and was a Pro Bowl selection. In 2022 he led all safeties with 6 INTs. Tennessee is pursuing Simmons.
Stephon Gilmore is still out there. He is probably waiting for a contender to come calling. The 12-year veteran will be 34 in September. He can still play and would fill the Right Cornerback position for the Patriots.
The Patriots have the cap space to sign both players.
UFL Players can sign NFL Contacts Starting on June 17th
The Patriots brought in Washington Guard Liam Fornadel for a workout. There has been no word on his potential signing because no UFL player can sign until the UFL season is over (17 June). Another player the Patriots should be interested in is Michigan kicker Jake Bates. The Panther’s kicker had a 64-yard kick to beat St. Louis. This was his 1st kick since High School. He went on to have another 60-yard FG. Bates was named to the All-UFL team for 2024. For the season he was 17 of 22 on FGs. He was a kickoff specialist in college for Arkansas.
The Patriots signed Rutgers WR JaQuae Jackson. The Atlanta Falcons cut the Undrafted Free Agent Jackson when they claimed Andrew Steuber off waivers from the Patriots. The 6’1”, 183 lbs. receiver ran a 4.52 40-yard dash, 6,85 3-cone drill at this Pro Day. He played four seasons at D II California (Pennsylvania). In 2023 he transferred to Rutgers for one year in the Big 10. In 13 games last season with 12 starts, he finished second on the team with 361 yards on 22 receptions with one touchdown. Jackson has been compared to Jakobi Meyers. To make room for Jackson the Patriots waived TJ Luther.
The patriots also claimed Linebacker Steele Chambers off waivers from the Detroit Lions. Chambers is an interesting story as he was originally a running back at Ohio State and converted to Linebacker in 2021. Since then, the 6’1”, 229 lbs. backer has started in 29 games for the Buckeyes. In 2023 he had 41 solo tackles and 43 assists for 84 total tackles which led Ohio State. Chambers played in the East/West Shrine game and participated in the Combine. He didn’t run the 40 at the combine and was clocked at a disappointing 4.77 at his Pro Day. The corresponding move by the patriots was to let go of UDFA linebacker Jay Person.
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