Bill Belichick names Patriots’ position group he feels most confident in
FOXBORO — Up until the minute the NFL’s 53-man roster deadline arrives Tuesday at 4 p.m., the Patriots will be weighing how best to shape their team for the regular season.
At least one position group, though, should already be settled: safety.
Asked which position has his greatest confidence heading into the season, Pats coach Bill Belichick said Monday that safety is “probably No. 1.” The Patriots returned their top three safeties this year and signed free-agent Jabrill Peppers, who made his preseason debut last Friday in Las Vegas.
“I would say the safety group is a pretty impressive group,” Belichick said during his midday press conference. “It’s good to see Jabrill out on the field, Devin (McCourty) AP (Adrian Phillips) and (Kyle) Dugger played a lot of football for us last year. We add Jabrill to that mix, and Myles (Bryant) has also played safety for us from that corner group. So between those five guys, that’s a pretty deep position.
“But we’ve shown packages and used packages last year with all three safeties on the field — Jabrill wasn’t here obviously — and (Joshuah) Bledsoe’s had a good camp, as well.”
Devin McCourty, Adrian Phillips and Kyle Dugger should be considered stone cold roster locks, with Peppers close behind. Bryant also figures to be safe, considering he’s been repping as the team’s top nickelback the past two weeks in joint practices and preseason games. Bledsoe, a 2021 sixth-round pick, has cooled significantly since his hot start to training camp, but remains heavily involved on special teams.
The Patriots have two other safeties who profile as core special teamers: veteran Cody Davis and undrafted rookie Brenden Schooler. Cornerback Jonathan Jones also has experience playing safety, but appears to be preparing for a full-time role as an outside corner. Barring an unexpected trade or release, the Pats’ combination of veteran depth and established starters should leave undrafted rookie Brad Hawkins as the only safety on the outside looking in on Tuesday.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/WIxG02y
Post a Comment