5 second-year Patriots players who need to step up in 2024

The Patriots loaded up on offensive players in the 2024 draft. That was partly because they have a new offensive coordinator, and he needs some weapons, but it was also an unintended consequence of their 2023 selections. That class included five defensive players.

But misfortune played a hand in limiting the effectiveness of their 2023 picks.

Just as first-round pick Christian Gonzalez seemed to have settled into life in the NFL; he suffered a brutal injury. He dislocated his shoulder so severely that his labrum was torn. The labrum is the cartilage surrounding the “socket” part of a ball and socket joint in the human body. Shoulder dislocations can be problematic, with some osteopaths claiming there’s a 90% relapse once a shoulder has suffered a dislocation!

He wasn't the only one who missed time due to injury problems, though. Five of the 12 draftees featured on the injury report at one time or another!

Gonzalez and co. will have to come through the 2024 season unscathed if Jerod Mayo is to turn the Patriots' fortunes around in his first year. But Gonzalez isn’t the only second-year player who will have a big say in how the 2024 season turns out in New England. 

5 second-year Patriots players who need to step up in 2024

Keion White 

White was the Patriots’ second-round pick last year. He was featured in 16 games but only played more than 66% of the defensive snaps in a single game on two occasions. Both Jerod Mayo and Bill Belichick were at pains to explain that they had a gradual development plan for White.

That seemed odd for a player taken in second-round pick, and unsurprisingly, the 24-year-old had a mixed season overall.  

Despite drawing rave reviews from fans and journalists alike, the 6-foot-5-inch defensive end only recorded one sack on a defense that struggled to get quarterbacks on the deck. The Georgia Tech product had a season of two halves. He only managed one solo tackle and four total tackles in the first seven weeks of the season.

However, he recorded his sac along with five QB Hits, two tackles for a loss, and 18 total tackles in the last seven. 

The Patriots' defense was pretty fluid in 2023. They used a 3-4 base, but they occasionally found themselves with as many as six guys on the line of scrimmage. If they mix it up this year, White would be better suited to a defensive tackle role than lining up at end. In Matt Judon’s absence, he sometimes lined up as a stand-up linebacker, but he lacks the burst Judon and other pure pass rushers have.

His power is there for all to see, but he doesn’t seem to have the “bend” that analysts highlight when they explain how pass rushers have beaten offensive tackles. Being a dynamic defensive tackle seems better than being a slow EDGE defender. With White and Christian Barmore taking on double team blocks, the Patriots linebackers would have plenty of space to operate.

Wherever White plays, he has to have a productive sophomore season. He was trending upward in the final two months of the 2023 season, so if the Patriots can avoid the injury bug, White’s job should be easier this time. 

Marte Mapu 

Mapu recently revealed that he was rehabbing a pectoral issue during the preseason last year. That may explain why the rookie played more special teams than defensive snaps.

If the former Sacramento State Hornet is healthy, he should be DeMarcus Covington’s secret weapon in 2024. Kyle Dugger called Mapu a “hybrid” during a game at Gillette Stadium last season, but his college profile page says he was named second-team Big Sky conference as an outside linebacker, and he started 12 games for the Hornets at nickelback! 

The former Big Sky defensive player of the year has two superpowers. First, despite weighing 230 pounds, he has an astonishing ability to squeeze between offensive linemen and appear in the backfield. His second cheat code is his strength.

Not many 230-pound players can tackle like James Harrison. Marte absolutely can; he demonstrated his raw power by ripping the ball out of Travis Kelce’s hands for his first career interception. 

Given the number of linebackers left in the off-season and Jaylinn Hawkins's arrival in free agency, it seems likely Mapu will play linebacker or as an auxiliary cornerback this season. But Marte’s ability to play at linebacker or defensive back means quarterbacks cannot tell if they’re facing a loaded box or more of a “dime” defense when he's on the field.

If fate smiles on DeMarcus Covington, the first-year defensive coordinator will be able to devise some creative defensive plays. 

Demario Douglas 

The Florida native became a fan favorite in New England almost immediately. Douglas flashed his elite foot speed in 2023 but only started seven games. Despite catching 49 passes, Douglas failed to score a touchdown in his rookie season. 

During his four years as a Liberty flame, Douglas caught 172 passes in 40 games. But he only scored 17 touchdowns in those 40 games. So, he’s never been a prolific redzone threat.  

“Pop,” as his friends call him, isn’t the Patriots' fastest receiver. That honor falls to Tyquan Thornton, who ran a 4.28-second 40-yard time at the 2022 combine (although he only started three games last year). Douglas ran a 4.44-second 40 in 2023.

But the second-year man is the most nimble; he has the sharpest breaks when he stems the route he's running and is very elusive once he has the ball in his hands.

Douglas’ diminutive stature was an issue last year, though. He fumbled the ball three times (although one of them was a result of Rhamondre Stevenson missing an open field block). But more serious than his mishandling were his concussion issues. He suffered the first concussion in October, which caused him to miss the Week 6 game against the Raiders.

His second concussion occurred in November and caused him to miss the games against the Chargers and Steelers. New offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt needs to find a way to keep Douglas out of the firing line while maximizing his undoubted talent. 

Isaiah Bolden 

Bolden had his own problem with a head injury in 2023. A collision with a teammate in preseason caused him to spend a night in Aurora Bay Medical Center in Green Bay and miss the entire 2023 season.

The Jackson State product was the only HBCU college athlete to be drafted in 2023, which made his absence even more depressing. 

The Tampa native is the same size as Christian Gonzalez and has some serious speed. Bolden reportedly ran a 4.31-second 40-yard dash in the lead-up to the 2023 draft. The only cornerbacks in his draft class who ran faster were Jakorian Bennett, now a Raider, and D.J Turner, a second-round pick for the Bengals.  

He will compete with Jalen Reagor for kick-returning duties, but hopefully, he’ll see some defensive snaps, too. His injury was so freakish that he should be given more time to prove he can play in the NFL. 

Sidy Sow

The Patriots drafted three interior offensive linemen in 2023. Jake Andrews only played 71 snaps in the regular season. He seemed to have been drafted because the team expected David Andrews to retire, but he's still going.

Atonio Mafi played six times as many snaps. He allowed five sacks on the 458 he played in the regular season. But that's not all. Mafi also drew seven penalty flags. The Patriots can only hope that neither has to play many snaps in 2024.

Fourth-round pick Sidy Sow was a different story, though. He was projected to be a seventh-round selection, as there were some worries about his ability to deal with speed rushers. The Canadian played on 772 snaps in his rookie year, allowing five sacks but only conceding two penalties.

The Eastern Michigan product played left tackle and left guard during his college days. In 2023, he slotted in at right guard when Mike Onwenu was moved to right tackle.

With a new offensive coordinator and, more importantly, a new offensive line coach, it's impossible to know what the Patriots' offense will look like in 2024. One thing is for sure: having failed to recruit a specialist left tackle in free agency, they also missed out on drafting one.

Chukwuma Okorafor is slated to get the first chance to prove his worth there, but he's never played left tackle in a regular-season game. Presumably, Mike Onwenu will be second in the queue, with another right tackle, Caedan Wallace, also in the mix.

With so much potential disruption up front, Sow's experience in a chaotic 2023 will hold him in good stead. It wouldn't even be a surprise to see him have a chance at left tackle by the end of the year.

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