Under-the-radar Patriots defense ready to take leap forward

New England’s defense finished ninth in DVOA last season.

The New England Patriots saw plenty of makeover on the roster and coaching staff this offseason. But, a focus was put on keeping a defense together that finished ninth overall in DVOA last season despite losing several key contributors to injuries.

Part of keeping that continuity together included re-signing safety Kyle Dugger to a four-year extension in free agency. Now back in the fold for the foreseeable future, Dugger’s focus can now solely reside on football as he believes the unit has even more room to grow.

“If I’m being honest, I don’t really see a ceiling for the group,” Dugger said on Monday. “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.”

Beyond maintaining key veteran pieces, New England has several second year players that could elevate the group either further — as the Patriots first three draft selections last year all came on the defensive side of the ball. That group is led by 2023 first-round pick Christian Gonzalez, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 4 last season.

“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,” head coach Jerod 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.”

A part of last year’s rookie class includes defensive lineman Keion White. The 2023 second-round pick played 45.8 percent of the defensive snaps as a rookie, but believes there is progress to be found as the game now slows down entering year two.

“Football-wise, you just know more. I feel like when you come in as a rookie it’s 1000 parts moving on 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 attention will rightfully be centered around quarterback Drake Maye and the Patriots’ evolution on offense, the other side of the ball knows the unit they can become. For now, however, they are taking it one day at a time as they work to wrap up Week 1 of OTA’s.

“The main thing [right now] is having everybody on the right page,” said cornerback Marcus Jones, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 2 last season. “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.”