Patriots Midseason Report Card: Grading Each Defensive Position Group

The Patriots aren’t very good, and that was reflected in each aspect of their first half.

New England is currently in line to hold the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, with a bad roster, injuries and a lack of consistency contributing to a less-than-stellar few months. It’s not like there haven’t been some bright spots, but there’s no doubt both sides of the ball have had their fair share of struggles.

We took a look at every offensive position group and gave them a grade for their performance, so now let’s do it for the defense:

DEFENSIVE LINE: D+
The Patriots didn’t expect to have Jaquelin Roy, Daniel Ekuale and Jeremiah Pharms Jr. playing pivotal roles along the defensive front this season, but that’s exactly what they’ve gotten.

New England was hit with the injury bug in a major way, with Christian Barmore spending the season on the non-football injury list with blood clots and forcing that trio into vital roles along the front. Davon Godchaux, Keion White and Deatrich Wise Jr. have also underperformed, headlining a run defense (136.9 yards allowed per game) that ranks 26th in the NFL.

LINEBACKERS: D+
Ja’Whaun Bentley went down with a pectoral injury in the second game of the season, producing a massive falloff for this unit. Jahlani Tavai has steadily improved while playing out of position, but the pass defense took a major hit while cycling through names like Raekwon McMillan, Christian Elliss and Sione Takitaki.

It’s a group that likely will earn a much better grade by season’s end, but steady improvements in recent weeks aren’t enough to cover up how ugly the middle of the defense has looked at times.

CORNERBACKS: B
Christian Gonzalez is one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Jonathan Jones is a solid boundary guy, though he probably should be playing nickel at this point. Marcus Jones brings tremendous speed, and when put in the right situations, has flourished.

New England needs to build depth around that trio. It’s a good unit, but far from great.

SAFETIES: C+
Jabrill Peppers’ off-field issues really sank what could have been a decent grade for this room.

The Patriots have done an admirable job filling in the cracks, with Marte Mapu, Jaylinn Hawkins and Dell Pettus all stepping in and outperforming expectations. Kyle Dugger is still great when he’s on the field, though his ever-present ankle injury is something to monitor moving forward. New England has something with this group, but only if those issues we mentioned get resolved.

SPECIALISTS: B+
Joey Slye has outperformed expectations. Bryce Baringer has been tremendous if you ignore Week 9. Joe Cardona is Joe Cardona. Brenden Schooler is Brenden Schooler.

Good job.