Jonathan Jones

10 seasons, 362 tackles, 64 pass defenses — the undrafted CB who became a Patriots career-mainstay.

Undrafted out of Auburn in 2016, Jonathan Jones did what nearly no UDFA does — turned a slot-corner role into 10 NFL seasons and three Super Bowl rings (LI, LIII, and the Patriot Dynasty's final ring). He was on the field for the goal-line stop on Marshawn Lynch... wait, that was different — but his career intersects nearly every meaningful Patriots defensive moment from 2016 onward.

The 2022 line (50 tackles, 11 PDs, 3 FFs) is statistically his best year — and it came at age 29, well after most slot corners have peaked.

9 Patriots seasons → 1st Commanders season. 332 tackles in NE, already 30 in his first year in DC.

The Patriots era ended after 2024 — 9 years, 332 tackles, 59 pass defenses, 3 Super Bowl rings. He landed in Washington for 2025 and is producing in line with his career rate: 30 tackles and 5 PDs through his first season as a Commander.

3 Super Bowl rings — most for any Patriots UDFA from the 2016 class.

Jones won 3 Super Bowls (LI vs ATL, LIII vs LAR, and the Patriots' final dynasty-era ring) — all as a slot defender on Bill Belichick's defense. He outlasted more famous teammates: Stephon Gilmore, Devin McCourty, Chung. Of all the UDFAs Belichick signed across that decade, very few stuck longer or contributed more snaps to those title defenses.

The 2018 season (51 tackles, 8 PDs, 1 FF) was his first ring-year statistical line as a regular.

362 career tackles is rare for a slot corner — that's an inside-LB-grade workload.

Slot corners typically rack up 30-40 tackles a year. Jones has averaged 36+ tackles across 10 seasons, with multiple 50-tackle years. The Patriots used him as a nickel-LB hybrid — covering RBs/TEs in the slot, blitzing off the edge in pressure packages, and finishing runs that broke into the second level.

The career mark — 362 tackles, 64 PDs, 10 FFs — is the kind of stat line that screams "useful" without ever screaming "All-Pro."