Being in New England often inspires players to raise the bar.
Just ask Chase Winovich.
Winovich, a third-round pick by the Patriots in 2019, made a positive early impression with the team. The Michigan product put together a rather impressive preseason, which surely helped him carve out a role as a rookie. Winovich didn’t exactly light it up last season, but appearing in every game as a first-year player in Foxboro is no small feat.
The 25-year-old reflected on his rookie season during a recent conversation with Patriots.com. The campaign began with a moment of self-reflection, which seems to have bettered the young pass-rusher.
“It was challenging is the best way I can put it, just in a different way,” Winovich said. “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.”
So, how is Winovich looking to improve heading into Year 2?
“What separates the best players from good players in the NFL, from what I’ve seen so far, is not the ability to make good plays because everybody can make some solid plays,” Winovich said. “It’s just being able to consistently do that. Time and time again on different opponents.”
One has to imagine that sentiment is music to the Patriots coaching staff’s ears.
