After an impressive win over the Bills on primetime last week, there is a good chance the Patriots will continue their win streak against the Saints in Week 6. They'll attempt to do that down a few depth pieces on defense, but they will have a rising star from the practice squad filling in for their absence.
Truman Jones, an undrafted pass rusher in 2023, was signed by the Patriots earlier this year after spending some time with the Chiefs until signing with the Patriots' practice squad last season. He put together a great offseason, but it wasn't enough to make this year's roster.
However, he will finally make his 2025 season debut on Sunday, and he has a big supporter in Mike Vrabel.
That inevitably puts a lot of pressure on the young player's shoulders, especially when he will help fill the void left by Anfernee Jennings and Keion White. On top of that, the rest of the pass rushers, like Harold Landry, haven't gotten to the quarterback too well in recent weeks, so Jones has a big opportunity to help change that.
But it won't come easy.
Mike Vrabel's high praise of Truman Jones will hopefully be proven true on game day
Fortunately, Jones has already impressed perhaps the most important person on the Patriots' coaching staff, as Vrabel shared that the 25-year-old is one of his favorite players on New England's roster this season.
It's high praise and certainly incredible to hear, but it inevitably puts a spotlight on Jones for this game, and hopefully, he will live up to the hype.
“I’m not supposed to have favorites, but I would say that Truman’s close to the list if I had one.
He’s an extremely hard worker. I would say that every time we have a show player of the week on the [defense] or special teams, I would say that he’s probably been one of those two, if not both, throughout the year. He’s done a nice job. He prepares as a starter each and every week.
I just think he’s continuing to develop, and we would be comfortable if we had to play him.”
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Coming from a former player who performed at a high level in several areas on defense, this kind of review of Jones holds a lot of weight coming from someone like Vrabel.
It's a lot to live up to, but the Patriots coaching staff appears confident that he can get the job done and be the kind of player to boost their defense. They'll certainly need it this week, even if they are universally favored against the Saints, and the defense will need to step it up to get the job done.
It would be great to see if Jones can be that player for them, especially since he could easily take over Jennings' or White's role on the game day roster if he does. Because they both have underperformed, Jones has a chance to steal a spot, even if thinking that is a possibility might be a bit premature.
Regardless, if he can perform at a high level on Sunday and prove Vrabel right, that's all Patriots fans will want and need from him this week.