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New England Patriots linebacker Chase Winovich had one of the more succesful seasons among rookies in recent years. And yet he has been vocal about just how challenging it was for him to enjoy his success.
He played just 29% of defensive snaps, and had 26 tackles and 5.5 sacks. That’s an impressive display of efficiency, especially while buried under a group of outside linebackers which included Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins and John Simon. But Winovich didn’t feel it clicked all at once.
“It was challenging is the best way I can put it, just in a different way,” Winovich told Patriots.com in a recent interview. “Just the competition’s really high and there’s the amount of information and just the learning curve that comes with the transition is inevitable. And I’m just fortunate that I had a great cast of teammates and coaches just surrounding me and constantly providing insight and guidance so they could help to make it as smooth as possible.
“I tried to compartmentalize each thing of my life and just break it down. When I got to the Patriots, I realized, especially going through training camp, I didn’t feel like it was quite enough. So I kind of went on a quest to ready myself and improve.”
Winovich will enter an open competition at the outside linebacker spot in 2020, and he’s got as good a chance as anyone to win a major role. Though Collins and Van Noy departed in free agency, Simon and Shilique Calhoun will be returning and they’ll be joined by rookies Joch Uche, a second-round pick out of Michigan, and Anfernee Jennings, a third-round pick out of Alabama. The team also signed free agent Brandon Copeland.
If Winovich wants to build upon his rookie season, he may be in for yet another challenging year.
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