How Patriots Defense Is Replacing Devin McCourty In Training Camp

FOXBORO, Mass. — A common refrain during this Patriots offseason was that you can’t replace Devin McCourty with just one player.

So far in training camp, New England hasn’t tried to.

Since camp began last week, the Patriots have deployed a variety of players at McCourty’s old free safety spot. Adrian Phillips, Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers and converted cornerback Jalen Mills all have seen time there, as has rookie hybrid linebacker Marte Mapu.

Phillips, who’s entering his 10th NFL season and fourth with the Patriots, likes the way this on-hands-on-deck approach is coming together.

“It’s always going to be hard to replace Devin, and you’ll never actually be able to replace him specifically,” he said after Tuesday’s practice. “But as a collective, as a group, I think we’re doing a great job.

“We have guys communicating. You’ve got me in my 10th year; Dugg has been in this system for four years; Pep, who’s going into his eighth year; J-Mills, going into his eighth year; Jon Jones. So there’s still a lot of knowledge out there. You don’t have to just go straight to Dev like we used to in the past.

“Now, everybody’s kind of branching out. You’ve got guys coming to each and every one of us and talking to us and getting different views of how plays are supposed to look and how schemes are supposed to look.”

“We’ll have a lot easier time replacing him on the field than off the field.”

Matthew Slater on Devin McCourty

It has been an adjustment, though. With McCourty — whom Phillips affectionately called “the grumpy bald guy” — rarely leaving the field, all of the Patriots’ current safeties primarily played different positions last season, typically lining up closer to the line of scrimmage.

Phillips played as a deep safety on 28.3% of his defensive snaps in 2022, per Pro Football Focus, and Dugger and Peppers both were just under 11%. Mills hasn’t taken a game snap at safety since 2020, before he joined the Patriots. All four have ample prior experience in that role, however, as do versatile corners Jonathan Jones and Myles Bryant.

“You kind of get used to what you’re doing a lot when you’ve got a guy like Dev back there because he is the middle-field roamer,” Phillips explained. “Like, he’s going to be the guy back there no matter what. But since he isn’t back there, it’s allowed me and it’s allowed other players to be able to be able to get comfortable being in the middle of the field, seeing how plays develop, seeing what your new keys will look like.

“I love being back there. I honestly love just being on the field, period, but it does feel good to be back there and show some range and have some fun.”

Though the Patriots will miss McCourty’s communication skills, veteran savvy and speed in coverage, some on the team believe his retirement could actually make their defense more unpredictable and difficult to play against.

New England returns every other contributor from a defense that ranked third in Football Outsiders’ DVOA in 2022, and it added three potential impact rookies in cornerback Christian Gonzalez, edge rusher Keion White and Mapu, about whom Phillips and others have raved.

More difficult, Matthew Slater said, will be replacing the leadership McCourty provided in his dozen years as a Patriots captain. They’ll lean on established leaders Slater, Mac Jones, David Andrews, Ja’Whaun Bentley and Deatrich Wise. It also would not be surprising to see a veteran DB like Jonathan Jones join the team’s captaincy group.

“You talk about replacing him,” Slater said, “we’ll have a lot easier time replacing him on the field than off the field.”