New England Patriots: 3 interesting position battles on defense

Position battles are beginning to heat up across the NFL, and the New England Patriots are no exception.

Fresh off one of the more disappointing seasons in recent memory, the Pats reloaded this offseason through free agency and the draft.

While the offensive side of the ball certainly has some new faces, the defensive side saw some massive overturn from last season. After watching opposing teams gash through their front seven on the ground and pick apart the lesser players in the secondary, coach Bill Belichick and the front office decided it was time to shake things up.

And boy did they ever. This Patriots defense could become one of the best in the league once you combine the stars from last season with the fresh faces brought in this offseason. It has also made the training camp/preseason period more interesting than ever.

There are tons of positional battles up and down the defensive depth chart, which is the result of some high level competition. Here are three of the most interesting position battles on the defensive side of the ball for the Pats.

New England Patriots position battle No. 3: Cornerback

The secondary was one of the stronger units on New England’s roster last season, and it looks like that will be the case again this time around. Among the deeper positions on the Pats roster is the cornerback position.

New England currently has a lot of uncertainty surrounding Stephon Gilmore‘s contract situation, which has only added to the competition. Nobody really knows whether Gilmore is going to be active for that start of the season, but if he is, he will be considered a lock for a roster spot. Alongside him will be J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones, and Jalen Mills.

Behind these guys is where the real competition is taking place. There will probably be two or three more guys from this position that will end up on the roster, again depending on what happens with Gilmore. Among the guys competing for those spots are Joejuan Williams, Dee Virgin, Myles Bryant, D’Angelo Ross, and Michael Jackson Sr.

There are a lot of interesting situations to take account for here. It would seem like Williams would have an inside track for a roster spot considering he was a second round pick in the 2019 Draft, but he can’t ever seem to find a way to get snaps. He probably gets another season to try to find his way, but anything could happen.

Of the four remaining guys, Bryant probably would win a spot on the roster after a solid camp. Guys like Jackson Sr. and Ross have shown flashes of potential and could be potential practice squad candidates, but will probably get squeezed out when roster cuts are made. Still, as one of the deepest positions on the roster, how the cornerback depth chart shakes out is one of the more interesting storylines as the regular season draws near.