Image courtesy of Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
For the first time in his six year career, Deatrich Wise Jr. became a captain of the Patriots this summer.
Wise Jr. is a mild-mannered guy off the field who wears a constant smile on his face. On any given day, Wise is willing to talk with anyone who walks by his locker. He always seems genuinely happy to just be in the building, even when walking into the media room – which can probably be a burden for a lot of guys – positivity radiates off of the 6’5, 275lb. defensive end.
If anyone liked all the Zappe puns following the Green Bay game, it was him, throwing them back and forth with reporters and pulling a George Costanza, going out on a high note saying he had recently “Zappe’d through a book” before exiting stage left with a giant laugh and hand in the air.
That personality has served him well as a first-year captain. Wise is usually in a good mood, but he also knows sometimes leadership has to take different forms.
“One point of leadership is knowing when to speak and when to act,” Wise Jr. said at his locker Thursday after practice. “Sometimes, you’ve got to let nature just take its course, but other times you can step in and be a vocal leader.”
Wise Jr. takes pride in the fact that he’s not a rah-rah speech guy, but more of an on-the-field type leader. His 22 tackles, four sacks and a forced fumble far this season, along with the ability to make the every day grind more enjoyable for his teammates is a combination not many guys can bring to an NFL locker room.
“I’ve always been a big lead by example type of person,” he said. “I feel like anybody can talk and do speeches and stuff – and that’s great, it’s phenomenal, I have nothing against that – I’ve always felt that, leading by example is showing up, showing people how to do things, Pulling people to the side to see where their mental is, making sure they’re still on the right track, they’re still moving forward, progressing upwards, you know?
“People go through things all the time in life, so, being understanding, just trying to meet everybody where they are in life and just being there for them as they move forward.”
Wise Jr.’s relationship with head coach Bill Belichick has also been important. Wise Jr. is now part of the captains meetings, but not much else has changed. Belichick took the big guy from Arkansas in the fourth round of the 2017 draft and has stuck with him despite some ups and downs in consistency. Perhaps that ability to maintain Bill’s confidence with his effort and attitude is the reason he’s now one of the well deserving leaders of the team.
“My dynamic with Coach Belichick has pretty much been the same since I’ve been here,” he added. “It’s grown the more I’ve played and the longer I’ve been here, the deeper relationship I’ve been able to have with him, but I’ve always been able to talk with him. Being a captain, I’m in the captain’s meetings now, but other than that, nothing has really changed, I’ve always had a good relationship with Coach Belichick.”
Wise Jr. is loving every second of his captaincy and truly appreciates the opportunity he has to wear a “C” on his jersey every Sunday. If the New England defense is going to continue showing people it’s a top tier unit while keeping a Zappe or Jones-led offense in games, his leadership and production could be a big reason why.
“It’s a good feeling,” he added. “It’s one of those honors to have guys, your peers, they think of you as a leader and that’s something I’ve held dear to me. I’ve always wanted to put my best foot forward. I feel like now that I’m a captain, I want to continue being that great example on the field and off the field.
“I watched a lot of other captains, how they conducted themselves, how they worked. They would always give me advice about whatever I’m doing in the future. I’m just taking on that, I soaked it all in and now I’m trying to use it accordingly.”