Is Joejuan Williams the answer to Patriots’ injury woes at cornerback?

With Jonathan Jones already ruled out and Jason McCourty questionable for this week’s game versus the Bills, could we see more action from Joejuan Williams?

The New England Patriots are in a rough spot this weekend because of injuries.

Not only is the team dealing with potentially significant injuries to its workhorse on offense this season (Julian Edelman), it’s also dealing with injuries to two of its top four cornerbacks in the star-studded secondary.

Jonathan Jones has already been ruled out for this Saturday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, and Jason McCourty is officially questionable for the game. Both defensive backs are battling groin injuries.

This will mark the first game that Jones has missed this season. McCourty, on the other hand, hasn’t played since the Patriots’ Week 11 trip to Philadelphia to face the Eagles. His return for Saturday is anything but a guarantee at this point, though the team could really use him with Jones already down for the count.

If McCourty is able to play, the Pats will likely assign him to Cole Beasley, Buffalo’s second-leading receiver this year. New England’s top cornerback, Stephon Gilmore, will probably get matched up against John Brown once again – the two did battle back in Week 4 up in Buffalo.

That leaves J.C. Jackson as the third cornerback in the game – if McCourty is able to play, of course. If McCourty isn’t able to go, then Jackson and Gilmore will be tasked with slowing down Brown and Beasley. But that only takes care of two receivers for the Bills… what about their third and fourth options at wideout when they come out in those spread formations? And what about the Bills’ tight ends – particularly talented youngster Dawson Knox?

Thankfully, New England’s safeties this year – Devin McCourty, Duron Harmon, Patrick Chung, and Terrence Brooks – have proven to be among the NFL’s best as a positional group for most of the season. Any one of them can match up against receivers, tight ends, and pass-catching running backs, and all four should be able to help mask the absence of Jones (and maybe Jason McCourty) if called upon.

For extra insurance though, it might be time for Bill Belichick to insert his second-round draft pick into the starting lineup this week.

We’re talking about former Vanderbilt Commodore star Joejuan Williams, of course. Williams has played sparingly in his rookie year; he’s only been in the lineup during two regular season games – in Week 7 against the New York Jets and in Week 12 against the Dallas Cowboys. Williams had a tackle in each game, as well as one pass defense versus New York.

The 6-foot-3, 212-pound corner certainly has the draft pedigree to warrant additional snaps. Most teams in the NFL don’t draft a defensive back in the first two rounds and then not play him at all. Of course, most teams in the NFL don’t also have the kind of talent and depth that the Patriots have this season in their defense.

Whether Williams sees more action this Saturday against the Bills probably depends a lot on Jason McCourty’s health.

If McCourty gets the green light to suit up, the Pats might be able to make do with just three active corners (Gilmore, Jackson, McCourty) against the Bills, mainly because Buffalo rarely comes out in four or five-wide sets. If McCourty can’t go though, it will be up to Williams to prove to everyone in the home crowd why he was worth the 45th overall pick last April.