The New England Patriots underwent significant changes to their roster and coaching staff this offseason. Despite these changes, they focused on maintaining a strong defense, which ranked ninth overall in DVOA last season despite several key injuries. One critical move was re-signing safety Kyle Dugger to a four-year extension. With his future secure, Dugger is optimistic about the unit’s potential for growth. “If I’m being honest, I don’t really see a ceiling for the group,” Dugger said. “As individuals, I think everybody definitely has room to grow. I know myself, I have a lot of room to grow. So, I think we can have a tremendous leap this year for sure.”
In addition to keeping key veterans, the Patriots are relying on second-year players to further strengthen the defense. Their top three draft picks last year were all defensive players, led by first-round pick Christian Gonzalez, who is recovering from a season-ending shoulder injury sustained in Week 4. Head coach Jerod Mayo emphasized the potential for significant improvement from these players in their second year. “There is no other point in their careers where they can make a massive jump like they can going from year one to year two,” Mayo said. “Now you understand what we are trying to do from a scheduling standpoint, from what you got to do to go out there and play. And so, we are looking for those guys to make a huge jump.”
Among last year’s rookies is defensive lineman Keion White, a second-round pick who played 45.8 percent of defensive snaps as a rookie. White anticipates progress as he enters his second year, now that the game has slowed down for him. “Football-wise, you just know more. I feel like when you come in as a rookie it’s 1000 parts moving at once,” White said. “We were blessed to have Mayo be promoted to head coach so it’s a lot of carryover from the last coaching staff. So [now] the game slows down. You can see more, you can react to more, you can be a lot more of a dominant player.”
While much of the spotlight will be on quarterback Drake Maye and the Patriots’ evolving offense, the defense remains focused on reaching its full potential. Cornerback Marcus Jones, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 2 last season, emphasized the importance of unity and continuous improvement as they progress through OTA’s. “The main thing [right now] is having everybody on the right page,” Jones said. “It starts with day one. There are always corrections. So we’re gonna make sure to get up in the film room and do what we have to do to correct them and not make them happen again.”