FOXBORO — Patriots linebacker Mack Wilson has made a position switch look seamless five years into his NFL career as he continues to make plays week after week on a defense that’s shining despite the team’s 4-11 record.
Wilson, 25, started playing the majority of his defensive snaps on the edge, rather than his natural position at off-ball linebacker, after the Patriots’ Week 11 bye. He’s found a new lease on life as an NFL defender with sacks in three consecutive games and 12 total hurries, all of which have come since Week 9.
The 6-foot-1, 246-pound defender recalled just one game during his college career when he played as an outside linebacker/defensive end before this season. As Wilson remembers it, Rashaan Evans was sick, so Wilson took more snaps on the edge vs. Vanderbilt in Week 4 of the 2017 season. He registered three quarterback hits, per PFF, in that game.
“At that moment is when I knew like, I can rush the passer a little bit, but obviously didn’t didn’t really stick to it,” he told the Herald on Tuesday.
Wilson led Alabama linebackers in snaps in 2018 before declaring early for the draft. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Browns and started 14 games as a rookie. The Browns changed head coaches and general managers, and Wilson was traded to the Patriots for Chase Winovich during the 2022 offseason. He played all 17 games with three starts in his first year with the Patriots but didn’t get any defensive snaps after Week 13. So, it was a bit of a surprise to see the Patriots bring Wilson back on a one-year, $1.6 million contract this offseason.
“Coming out of last year, Steve (Belichick) and I felt like we kind of let Mack down on some of the things that we knew he was good at but at the same time didn’t want to really overload his plate,” linebackers coach Jerod Mayo said Tuesday. “Coming into this season, we said, ‘look we have to get this guy on the field. He’s explosive, he’s fast, he can play various roles’ and honestly over the past few months, he’s been doing a good job in those roles. Obviously, he’s more comfortable in the defense. But he’s doing a great job for us. He can rush, he’s fast and can do all the things that the fast defensive ends do in the league plus play off the ball.”
Wilson said the Patriots worked him in on the edge more during the offseason workout program this spring, but it didn’t initially stick as he started the year continuing to play more off-ball linebacker.
“This offseason, I got the opportunity to get a few rushes in, and it was ‘ehh.’ They wasn’t too high up on it at the moment,” Wilson said. “Obviously, as I got more reps and stuff like that, obviously the coaching staff, Bill (Belichick), Mayo, Steve everybody you know kind of see that it was probably a little potential there or whatnot, so just kept working at it honestly with guys like (Josh) Uche, (Matthew) Judon, like some of the best pass-rushers in the league. And honestly, I’m a product of what they built this past offseason with everything I’ve been doing as far as my reps or pass rush that I learned from Judon and Uche. It’s been working for me.”
Wilson has spent more time with Patriots director of skill development Joe Kim during practice. He’s also worked on his get-off from the line of scrimmage with Judon and Uche.
“I’m thankful to have guys like that to kind of groom me to being an up-and-coming defensive end, hybrid defensive end,” Wilson said.
Judon has been out since Week 4 with a biceps injury, and Uche missed time in the middle of the season with injuries. The Patriots also lost defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale for the season in Week 3. Other players like Deatrich Wise and Keion White saw more snaps inside, which precipitated working Wilson into Uche and Judon’s spots on the outside.
“We need him,” Bill Belichick said Wednesday. “Trying to get our best players on the field. We have some other guys that can move inside. … So, we get our best players on the field. We played him more on the edge and moved the other guys more inside.
“Mack’s done a good job for us. He’s been out there before. It’s not just groundbreaking. We used him out there in preseason, other times during the season. In the past when we had Judon, Uche, Wise and those guys, there was less of a — we played him more off the ball. So now, in passing situations, he’s played more on the ball and he’s done a good job with it.”
He’s also played well in coverage this season, allowing just eight catches on nine targets for 58 yards with two pass breakups and one batted pass. His sack of Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson was a strip-sack recovered by Denver on Sunday night.
He’s impressed his teammates with his versatility and athleticism at his new position.
“He looks comfortable at what he’s doing and he feels free,” linebacker Jahlani Tavai said Wednesday. “I’m just glad that he’s finally shining. That dude is an athlete. … The man is as fast as DBs and explosive. I’m really glad we found a spot for him, and I know he’s going to be thriving the rest of the year.”
Wilson will be a free agent after the season. He’d like to be back with the Patriots in 2024 and beyond.
“You always obviously want to put good stuff on tape and especially in times like this when you’re not having the season you want to have,” Wilson said. “It’s easy to just turn your back or put BS on film. That’s not the case here, especially just for this team in general. We want to continue to win games, win out, obviously.
“With me playing a little something different on tape, it’s going to be fun to see how people value me and stuff like that. But I’d love to come back here, and we’ll see where things are at.”