The Patriots have locked in one of their captains and top defenders by signing CB/PR Marcus Jones to a contract extension on Tuesday.
As a 2022 third-round draft choice, Jones was set to be an unrestricted free agent in the 2026 offseason. Instead, New England locked up Jones before he hits the open market. Along with being an All-Pro caliber punt returner, Jones has developed into a locker-room leader and an excellent corner. This season, Jones leads the team with nine passes defensed and is tied with LB Robert Spillane with a team-high two interceptions, playing arguably one of the toughest positions in the Patriots defense as the primary nickel corner in the slot on 68.5% of his snaps.
On defense, Jones has great instincts in zone coverage and is a sticky man-coverage defender. Despite playing inside where receivers have ample room to operate, Jones ranks fifth among slot corners in success rate in man coverage (42.9%), with four passes defensed in man-to-man. Jones has also forced quarterbacks to throw into a tight window on 30.8% of his man coverage snaps, ranking seventh among slot cornerbacks.
One example of Jones's high-level play in coverage was his second-half interception of Bills QB Josh Allen in the Patriots 23-20 win in Week 5. With the Bills driving into the red zone, New England played a match coverage with Jones carrying a vertical release out of the slot. By playing to his deep safety help, Jones was able to under-cut an in-breaking route to make a diving interception that took points off the board for the Bills in a close game.
On top of being an impact player on defense, Jones is one of the NFL's best punt returners. This season, Jones leads the NFL in punt return average (21.6 yards) and is third in punt return yards (216 yards) through the first eight weeks. Following a 42-13 win over the Panthers in Week 3, Jones was named the AFC's Special Teams Player of the Week with an 87-yard punt return touchdown and a 61-yard return that set up another Patriots touchdown. Jones is an electrifying returner who has almost single-handedly won the Patriots games, like when he had a walk-off punt return touchdown vs. the Jets during the 2022 season, headlining an All-Pro campaign where he was named to the Associated Press's first team.
With the 27-year-old playing on the final year of his rookie contract, the Patriots were proactive in getting a deal done with Jones, rewarding one of their best defenders and hardest workers. Along with outside corners Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III, the Patriots now have their top three cornerbacks under contract for the foreseeable future, a huge positive for New England's defense.
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