For the first time in 13 years, the New England Patriots don't have Devin McCourty roaming the middle of the field as their centerfield safety. Since coming out of college, McCourty had his place in the Patriots' defense, and it was playing the "post" in Bill Belichick's predominantly one-high safety defense.
Not only was McCourty an exceptional talent but also a locker room leader that will be missed. Yet, his retirement couldn't have come at a better time for the franchise as they have a plethora of options to help fill the void of No. 32.
“You kind of knew where Devin was going to be most of the time,” veteran Jabrill Peppers explained. “Yeah, he inserted, he rotated down, but for the most part, you knew 80-90 percent of the time he was going to be in the post. Now, you don’t know where anybody’s going to be.”
Without McCourty, New England will likely employ all the options at their disposal, from Kyle Dugger to Myles Bryant. The Patriots will be able to keep opponents guessing as to what they are doing defensively, thanks to their diversity in personnel.
Peppers, for example, could be used as the post-safety or put in the box to play as a linebacker/safety hybrid, similar to what Dugger does. The same thing can be said of Adrian Phillips.
Peppers, the 2022 free agent signee, didn't feature prominently last season in Foxboro, mostly playing off the bench. But is now looking to take the next step and is already showing signs of it.
“Oh my God, yeah,” Belichick said on Tuesday about the development of Peppers. “He’s a much different player now than he was last year at this time or even in training camp. A full year after the injury, a lot of confidence in the communication, the system, his assignments. He’s playing fast, aggressive, helping out his teammates.”
It is strong praise from Belichick, someone who doesn't like giving away much in terms of information explicitly. Rather, he likes to leave the media to read between the lines, which is another reason why the Pats faithful should notice what Belichick is saying.
While there is still a way to go before the start of training camp, as the Patriots just wrapped up their second practice of minicamp, Peppers taking on a featured role in the defense seems to be something that fans can count on seeing come the 2023 season.
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