Expectations are high for the New England Patriots coming off their first appearance in the Super Bowl since Tom Brady’s departure, and they’re shared by at least one new member of the defense.
Dre’Mont Jones, who the Patriots picked up in free agency on a three-year, $39.5 million contract, shared his first impressions of the foundation laid by last year’s group on the second day of training camp.
“That’s why these guys are so great. There’s a good amount of guys in those rooms that have been to the Super Bowl,” Jones said. “Sh–, I’ve never been to the playoffs, so I’m learning from them how to actually win games, how to finish games. My entirety of my career, we don’t – we play well, but we don’t finish. And sh–, I lost to the Pats twice, so I’m expecting us to kick some ass this year.”
Jones spent last year with two different teams: the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens, (beaten by the Patriots 31-13 and 28-24, respectively). The Denver Broncos drafted him in the third round in 2019, and he signed with the Seattle Seahawks between that chapter and Tennessee.
He combined for a career-high seven sacks last season and will need to provide an answer to one of the team’s biggest question marks: the edge position, vacated by one of last year’s statistical leaders, K’Lavon Chaisson, in free agency.
Jones called the current group of young linebackers “underrated.”
“The world’s going to see how good we can be. Because like Elijah [Ponder], he can be the truth. [Bradyn] Swinson, he can be a killer in this league,” Jones said. “They definitely have the building blocks to be great.”
Sunday was a positive practice for the defense, who threw a wrench in quarterback Drake Maye’s efforts to connect with new receiver Romeo Doubs and rookie tight end Eli Raridon. Safety Kevin Byard tipped his hat to the unit but said he expects defensive units to be ahead of offenses at this point in training camp.
“When the pads come on days into training camp, I expect those guys to start making a lot more plays. But defense, we’ve been having a lot of fun the first couple days.”
The Patriots allowed the 9th-fewest passing yards and 6th-fewest rushing yards in 2025.
For Jones, the expectation for this group is crystal clear early-on.
“They’ve been to the Super Bowl. They’ve got a lot of returning starters and I hope I can add some value to that, and hopefully I can be the reason they win,” he said.