The Patriots' secondary has been widely touted as one of the best parts of the entire 2025 roster since it will be led by cornerbacks Carlton Davis and Christian Gonzalez, along with safeties Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers. The tandems at each position are projected to be among the best in the league and could put the Patriots' defense back on the map once again.
Watching them during training camp was going to be one of the more exciting aspects of practice, but the injury bug has hit the cornerback room, with the two starters missing time and ultimately allowing the backups to get more reps to earn a spot on the roster.
Besides the prominent names like Alex Austin and Marcus Jones, another name that has gained stock over the past few weeks is DJ James. The mostly unknown player, who spent last season on the Patriots' practice squad, has made some highlight plays and made sure to take advantage of his opportunity during the preseason opener to inch closer to securing a spot on the final 53-man roster.
The Patriots have another hot roster competition to keep a close eye on during training camp
Adding to his already noteworthy offseason, James made one of the more memorable plays of the night against the Commanders on Friday, as he intercepted quarterback Sam Hartman on third down for the first Washington turnover of the night.
It makes Mike Vrabel and Co.'s job much more difficult when looking at who might be easy cut candidates and who they should keep around for a bit longer.
GO DJ THAT'S MY DJ
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) August 9, 2025
📺: WBZ pic.twitter.com/sWtumiGvuQ
The cornerback competition is starting to heat up, and that is not something the Patriots have had the luxury of in quite some time. They have their two shutdown starters in Davis and Gonzalez, and now have a red-hot battle for those hoping to earn a backup role to round out the roster in the best way possible.
James' performance will inevitably put him on the radar even more than he had been before this game, and it'll be fascinating to see if he can maintain this level of play.
If so, the cornerback room might be the deepest position on the entire team, ensuring the secondary is in great hands in case disaster strikes.