Patriots clearly made wrong decision moving Jalen Mills back to cornerback

The New England Patriots have been looking everywhere for answers to fast track the current rebuild.

After going 7-9 last season, they spent a ton of money in free agency to bring talented players to Foxborough, one of them being defensive back Jalen Mills.

Mills, who spent five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, signed a four-year, $24 million contract with the Patriots in March of 2021. During his time in Philadelphia, Mills played four seasons as a corner before switching to safety in his last year with the team.

The Patriots decided to switch him back to cornerback, and so far, the big offseason acquisition hasn’t paid off yet.

Mills is a part of the New England defense that is ranked 17th in yards allowed per game with 359.2, and their pass defense is only one spot better at 16th, with 246.3 yards allowed per game. Despite all of the yards, the Patriots are ranked just 10th in points allowed, giving up an average of 21.2.

Jalen Mills struggling at corner for Patriots

A closer look at Mills’ numbers shows that he may have been better off remaining at safety. In his last three seasons at cornerback, (‘18, ‘19, ‘21), Mills has played 22 games and been targeted 139 times, giving up 85 catches for 1,356 yards at a 61% completion rate.

His short Patriots career is responsible for some of that, allowing 15-of-24 completions, 190 yards and two touchdowns in just five games.

For comparison, in his one season at safety, 2020, he was targeted 59 times, allowing 34 completions (a percentage of 57.6%) and 391 yards

Patriots DB Jalen Mills’ worst game came against Dallas Cowboys

On Sunday, Mills had his worst game as a Patriot against the Dallas Cowboys. During the game, he was targeted nine times and allowed seven completions for 98 yards and two touchdowns, none more memorable than the game-winner.

In fairness to Mills, the Cowboys had the perfect call for the defense that New England was running on the last play, so he was put in a tough position. As far as the rest of the game goes, though, he has to improve.

With Stephon Gilmore now in Carolina, Mills and J.C. Jackson are the corners for the Patriots and they must continually improve if New England wants to get back to winning. The team is currently 2-4 and the conservative offensive play calling, as they develop rookie Mac Jones, is a clear sign that they are depending a lot of the defense.