Patriots’ Best Tyreek Hill Stopper Shares Plan For Dolphins Star

Few, if any, NFL defensive backs have been as successful as Jonathan Jones at defending Tyreek Hill.

The star receiver went off in his first two games against New England (7-133-1 in 2017; 7-142-3 in 2018), but posted just 27 catches for 317 yards in the next five matchups. That’s good for averages of 5.4 catches and 63.4 yards, numbers you’ll absolutely live with when playing against Hill.

Devin McCourty, a key part of that success, retired over the offseason. Now leading the Patriots secondary is Jones, who’s been the most consistently effective piece of New England’s Hill defense over the years.

Jones was asked about Hill on Wednesday with the two set to reunite Sunday evening when the Miami Dolphins visit Gillette Stadium.

“You just try to be physical,” the 29-year-old cornerback said. “You try to hit him when you can, slow him down, try to match speed with speed. That’s your best bet.”

“He has an incredible skill set. It’s just one of those things, a guy like that, he’s explosive. He can take a 3-yard pass and take it the distance. He keeps the defense on its toes on every play.”

Obviously, Jones won’t be tasked with playing solo defense against Hill, who smoked the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday when he caught 11 catches for 215 yards and two TDs. It’ll be a team effort and the Patriots also will have to keep a close eye on Jaylen Waddle, who could be a No. 1 receiver on most teams.

“That whole unit, they stretch defenses out when you play zone,” Jones said. “When you play man, you’re running around all day chasing them. They just have tremendous skillset between the two of them. They can stretch the field, and Waddle’s not slow either. So you have both sides to do.”

The good news for New England is it might have its best overall defense since 2018. With a bevy of athletic, versatile safeties and a solid, high-ceiling group of cornerbacks, the Patriots should be able to continue their success against Hill.

But it won’t be easy, and they’ll be facing a quarterback in Tua Tagovailoa who is undefeated against Bill Belichick. If the Patriots are going to snap that streak, they must prevent Hill from breaking the game open.

They’ve done it before, and with Jones still around, they have a chance of doing it again.