Football season is officially here.
Ok, so technically not for another week when training camp officially starts, but Patriots rookies report on Friday and the first practice open to the public is Wednesday the 24th.
To gear up for an intriguing, new era under the Krafts, Eliot Wolf and Jerod Mayo, we’ll be breaking down each position group, alternating with defense and offense. We start out with the corners…
Under contract: Azizi Hearn, Alex Austin, Christian Gonzalez, Isaiah Bolden, Mikey Victor, Marcellas Dial, Shaun Wade, Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones, Marco Wilson
Positional breakdown: If Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones and Marcus Jones all play a full season, this could be a very starting unit, but there’s not a ton of depth behind them yet. We only got a glimpse of what Gonzalez could be last season before he went down. When he was out there, he certainly looked the part early and seemed a bit bigger and just as fluid during minicamp. Jonathan Jones is now the old man of the group, entering his ninth season with the Pats. At age 30, he’s a steady, consistent presence and a dependable player. He had seven PBU’s and 48 tackles a year ago in 14 games. No INT’s last year, but he did have four in 2022. Marcus Jones has shown early in his career he can be a dynamic playmaker. There was the punt return TD against the Jets (he was voted All Pro at PR in 2022) and the screen pass TD against Buffalo. The pick six against Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay too. Unfortunately, last year Jones played just a game before his shoulder injury in Week 2. His rookie year Jones had two picks in four games.
Behind them, Alex Austin, Isaiah Bolden, Shaun Wade and Azizi Hearn are the next guys to watch in camp and all are question marks. Austin showed he could play at times last year, playing in five games with the team, starting one. Austin has played in just eight career NFL games with a total of seven solo tackles. The former Oregon State Beaver is 23 years old. Bolden was on injured reserve as of August 29th last season, so we’ll see what they can get from him. Wade is the most dependable guy of that group, entering his third year with the team, but last season was his first true NFL season. Wade played in six games combined (three each) in 2021 and 2022. Last year, he appeared in 14 games with 1 PBU and 23 total tackles. Hearn was signed to the Pats’ practice squad in September of last season. He’s 6’1″ 200lbs. with some length and popped up a handful of times during OTA’s.
Marco Wilson could be an under the radar guy. Wilson was taken in the fourth round by Arizona in 2021. Most noticeably, he’s dependable. Wilson played in 14, 14 and 15 games his first three years with the Cardinals, racking up over 40 tackles each season. His only NFL interceptions came in 2022 when he made three of them, including one for a 77-yard pick six. Wilson played in one game for the Patriots last season, getting credit for an assist on a tackle.
Mikey Victor will probably have a tough time making the team as an undrafted free agent out of Alabama State, but he is a big body at 6’3″ 212 lbs. Victor was first in the SWAC and ranked second in all of FCS with 1.7 passes defended per game. He had 36 tackles and led the conference with 15 PBU’s, 13 passes deflections and two picks last season.
Marcellas Dial is an intriguing prospect. Dial was taken in this year’s draft in the sixth round (180th) overall out of South Carolina. In his redshirt senior season he had 33 tackles (25 solo), six PBU’s, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.