Patriots Preseason Finale: Barkevious Mingo Shines in Debut

Newly acquired linebacker Barkevious Mingo did a little bit of everything in his debut with the New England Patriots.

Corey Dillon, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Akeem Ayers and Mike Vrabel are just a few names on a list of players who have either rejuvenated or elevated their careers after joining the New England Patriots.

Newly acquired linebacker Barkevious Mingo hopes to add his name to that list.

After being traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Patriots, the former 6^th pick overall in the 2014 NFL draft made his debut Thursday night. Although just a preseason game, Mingo showed glimpses of why he was target by Bill Belichick and what kind of impact role he may play on the team.

In the preseason finale loss to the New York Giants, Mingo was everywhere. The linebacker entered the game in the first quarter and recorded a strip sack on just his third snap. On the very next play he was involved in a forced fumble and showed off his quickness in the open field. Mingo also saw time playing on special teams. In doing so he showed he is willing to do whatever Belichick and the Patriots ask of him.

What was most impressive about Barkevious Mingo was his ability to make an impact immediately. While he is just learning the defense, the fact that he was able to be in the right places at the right time shows that the Patriots may have found a way to use his talent.

Now the real indication of how well Mingo fits in will not be determined until the games actually counts. But the athletic, versatile linebacker has already drawn accolades from Belichick. Following the game, the Patriots head coach spoke about Mingo’s play on the field as well as his commitment to catching up and learning the defense.

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“He’s shown a lot of commitment to try to pick up the new information and try to understand what we’re doing, watching the films of games we played to understand the techniques and how we’re playing things and all that,” Belichick said. “He worked really hard, took a lot of plays in practice to get somewhat comfortable with what we’re doing. It’s obviously going to be a work in progress here, it’s only been a week, but he’s smart, he learns well, and he works hard. So check all those boxes.”

Mingo ready to take advantage of a fresh start with the Patriots.

Mingo played a total of 56 snaps Thursday night and is off to an encouraging start with the Patriots. At 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, the 25 year old was drafted as a high first-round pick by the Browns as an impact type player. Things didn’t work out as planned in Cleveland for Mingo. But sometimes a fresh start is what a player needs to regain the type of confidence needed to compliment the physical talent.

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Mingo certainly knows he has a renewed opportunity to show the league the type of player he can be: “It’s a new team, and these guys want to see what I can do. I want to see what I can do in this defense.”

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