Patriots All-Purpose Threat Marcus Jones Focused On Defense First

Forbes

09-04-2025

Marcus Jones can relate to the top NFL draft question facing wide receiver, cornerback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.
The 26-year-old spent time on offense and defense, too, during his run from the Troy Trojans to the Houston Cougars. The Paul Hornung Award, recognizing the nation's most versatile player, followed as a redshirt senior. So did consensus All-American honors as a return specialist en route to being selected in third round of the 2022 class.
But in the case of the New England Patriots cornerback, it still starts at cornerback as the voluntary offseason program gets underway.
'We actually started installing and everything like that today,' Jones told reporters of the defensive side of the ball during his Tuesday press conference at Gillette Stadium. 'I feel as though we're taking it one day at a time, so it's not one of those situations to where they're throwing all of the playbook at you at one time. But we're taking it day by day.'
Jones stands 31 games and 14 starts into his tenure with the organization that filled out his draft card. The former No. 85 overall pick has recorded 102 tackles and 17 passes defensed as part of the New England secondary. Along the way have arrived three fumble recoveries and three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.
But the 5-foot-8, 188-pound spark remains open to the rest entering 2025 under new head coach Mike Vrabel.
'Same question every single time,' Jones said when asked of potential offensive opportunities. 'I mean, if it happens, it happens. But my main thing is to learn the new defense and then kind of go from there.'
While primarily a slot corner, Jones has had his fingerprints on all three phases at the NFL level. As a rookie, he led the league in punt return yardage and found the end zone in that capacity on the way to being named an AP first-team All-Pro. His time in Foxborough also spans one carry, five catches, 101 yards as well as a score from scrimmage.
'I feel like it's one of those situations to where people are first saying, you know, you can't really play both sides in general in the league,' Jones said. 'And then, I get here and then I eventually start playing. But playing both sides, I'm not going to say you can't do it, but it's a very long season.'
The odometer reads 24 snaps on offense, 1,000 snaps on defense and 228 snaps on special teams for Jones, who was placed on injured reserve due to a hip issue in late December.
As for Hunter, last fall at the University of Colorado saw him eclipse 700 snaps on offense and 700 snaps on defense. The full-time wideout and full-time cornerback collected the Fred Biletnikoff Award and Chuck Bednarik Award while also taking home the Paul Hornung Award for the second consecutive campaign.
'I definitely understand the situation of playing both sides, but his level of how he was doing it and everything like that was definitely different from mine,' Jones said of Hunter. 'I hope the best for him. You know, just being able to do it in the league is definitely hard to do, but I hope that he takes advantage of the opportunity, for sure.'