New England Patriots defensive tackle Cory Durden has stepped up in a big way during the 2025 campaign, becoming a key rotational player for this team, especially as they’ve battled through the postseason on the way to a Super Bowl LX berth.
After going unselected in the 2023 NFL Draft, Durden played in just eight games between the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams through his first two seasons in the league, registering 13 tackles, one tackle for loss, 1.5 stuffs, and zero quarterback hits.
However, since initially joining the Patriots practice squad in late-August before being signed to the active roster prior to Week 1, Durden has more than doubled all of those totals. The 6’4”, 305-pound 27-year-old played in all of New England’s 17 regular-season games during the 2025 campaign, posting 30 tackles, five tackles for loss, seven stuffs, and a quarterback hit.
For his performance, Pro Football Focus gave Durden an overall grade of 72.8, good for the 20th-best mark among 134 qualifying defensive linemen.
Some of his best statistical performances of the year came while picking up the slack for injured star defensive tackle Milton Williams, as Durden posted a season-high four tackles twice in December matchups against the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills, both contests that Williams missed.
Cory Durden continues to make an impact in the postseason for the Patriots
While Durden has only registered three tackles so far during the playoffs, his ability to disrupt opposing signal callers has helped contribute to the Patriots’ defense, allowing just 26 points through their three-game run to the Super Bowl.
Durden has been credited with a pair of quarterback hits and 13 quarterback pressures in the postseason, the latter of which is the fifth-highest total among all defensive players league-wide.
The Patriots found a diamond in the rough with DL Cory Durden:
— Daniel Rotman (@daniel_rotman15) January 26, 2026
• Durden was a UDFA in ‘23, bouncing around from DET, LAR, and NYG before signing with NE for $1.087M AAV.
– Prior to ‘25, Durden had only played 128 snaps and generated 4 pressures in 2 years.
– In ‘25, Durden… pic.twitter.com/7FWP9wi6Su
Rushing the passer is something Durden has worked hard to improve this year, according to New England head coach Mike Vrabel, who noted the third-year player has worked with the team’s defensive line coach, Clint McMillan, to improve in that area.
Meanwhile, Durden has praised the Patriots’ coaching staff for assisting his growth as a player, saying Vrabel “changed my career.”
Now with Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks on the horizon, Durden says he’s looking forward to playing in the biggest game of his career next Sunday, and that his team wants “to go win the Super Bowl.”
"[The Seahawks] are a really good team, they got a really good quarterback, really good receivers … it’s exciting to play against an organization with a lot of history and they’re a championship caliber team, so very excited for the challenge."
We'll see what they can do on February 8.