The New England Patriots reached Super Bowl LX with a defense willing to manufacture pressure.
Their current initiative is finding more ways to create it without sending extra rushers.
That challenge places Dre’Mont Jones in a larger role than his free-agent profile suggested.
CBS Sports’ Zachary Pereles listed Jones among 50 under-the-radar players who could show up in the 2026 NFL season.
Pereles described the veteran as “as steady as they come and perhaps even getting better,” pointing to career highs of seven sacks and 24 quarterback hits in 2025.
Jones signed a three-year, $39.5 million contract with New England in March. The deal gave him $14.5 million in the first year and brought another versatile piece into a front built around dominant interior defensive lineman.
Jones Gives Patriots More Options Up Front
GettyBALTIMORE, MARYLAND – DECEMBER 21: Drake Maye #10 of the New England Patriots scrambles while being pressured by Tavius Robinson #95 and Dre’Mont Jones #41 of the Baltimore Ravens during the first quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on December 21, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
Jones split last season between Tennessee and Baltimore after the Ravens acquired him at the trade deadline.
He finished the year with 36 tackles and seven sacks across 18 games, giving him 37.5 sacks over seven NFL seasons.
His value extends beyond the sack total.
Patriots.com credited Jones with 51 pressures and a 12.9% pass-rush win rate in 2025. He also produced an above-average 0.88-second get-off and 19 pressures in fewer than 2.5 seconds.
Those numbers help explain why New England made him one of its first additions in free agency.
The Patriots ranked 16th in pressure rate when rushing four last season, generating pressure on 31.4% of those plays, and it rose to 48.5% when they blitzed, the fifth-best mark in the NFL.
New England used that aggression effectively during its postseason run, but consistently relying on extra rushers can create stress elsewhere.
Jones offers another route to the quarterback and can line up across the formation.
He played most of his snaps on the edge last season, yet Patriots.com noted that he also moved inside on 13% of his defensive work.
His pressure rate climbed to 14.3% from defensive tackle, where his first-step quickness can become more difficult for guards to handle.
His run defense offers the largest unanswered question.
Only 25.6% of Jones’ snaps came against the run, and his 3.6% run-stop rate ranked 47th among 51 qualified edge defenders.
CBS Sports still viewed his size as evidence that he can handle all three downs.
Patriots Can Build a Deeper Four-Man Rush
The Patriots already have established interior disruptors in Christian Barmore and Milton Williams.
Jones gives head coach Mike Vrabel another way to arrange that talent on passing downs.
A front featuring Barmore and Williams inside could keep Jones on the edge, but New England could also slide Jones over the guard to create favorable matchups in passing situations.
His ability to bolster the rush when needed becomes important while Harold Landry III works back from injury.
Landry opened training camp on the physically unable to perform list, adding another question to a position group that lost 2025 pressure leader K’Lavon Chaisson in free agency.
Jones arrives with the experience to absorb a substantial workload.
He has appeared in 108 regular-season games, started 69 and recorded at least four sacks in each of the past six seasons.
CBS Sports highlighted his ability to play all three downs, an important distinction for a defense that wants to remain physical without becoming predictable.
Jones has enough size to hold up against the run and enough pass-rushing production to stay on the field when the situation changes.
Although his signing lacked the attention attached to New England’s larger offseason moves, by the end of the season, the Patriots may view it as one of the most imperative additions of the year.
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