New England Patriots defensive back Jalen Mills can play in a variety of roles.
He tweeted in mid-March that he “really plays safety”, although recent history suggests his versatility. He played 227 snaps at the wide corner position, as well as 182 snaps at slot corner. He played 236 snaps at free safety and was in the box for 329 snaps.
With New England, he has been able to play as a defensive back in certain situations. He recorded 31 tackles and five pass deflections in 10 games for New England last season. He made all 10 starts in the process.
Now, it appears he could have the opportunity to play safety once again. Brian Belichick recently spoke to the media and talked about the role of a defensive back in the Patriots defense, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Zack Cox.
“For our defense, we categorize everyone on the back end as DBs,” Belichick said. “We’re pretty position-flexible. Whatever people want to call the guys, whatever they want to call themselves, that isn’t important to us. It’s more (about) the roles that they can help us with on the back end, and Jalen Mills, just like a lot of our guys, has been a guy who can help us in multiple different roles doing multiple different jobs.
“Like a lot of guys who have come through here — Devin McCourty, Jason McCourty, Myles Bryant, (Kyle) Dugger, (Adrian) Phillips. They all played different roles — outside, inside, covered different guys. Those are the types of guys that we want on our defense.”
Mills’ versatility certainly lends him to being able to be switched around defensively. Nevertheless, it’s clear that he has a favorite position on the field.
New England’s defense played at a high level last season, and it will be intriguing to see if they can replicate that performance in 2023. Mills will obviously be a big part in whatever role he ends up playing.
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