1 – One has a Pro Bowl resume, an $80 million contract to his name and 26 career interceptions. The other is a rookie with four NFL starts and one career interception.
But J.C. Jackson will have some big shoes to fill when he likely returns to action for the Patriots Sunday afternoon against the Saints, the veteran trade addition looking to help New England fill the void of losing first-round cornerback Christian Gonzalez to a shoulder injury.
While Jackson is the far more proven, established player from his days as Mr. INT in the back of the Patriots’ defense, his career took a turn for the worse when he signed his huge free agent deal with the Chargers in the 2022 offseason. After missing most of last season with a torn Patella tendon, Jackson fell out of favor in L.A. to the point that he was a healthy scratch early this season before being traded to the Patriots in a deal that saw the teams swap late-round picks and the Chargers pick up most of his significant salary.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez had established himself as one of the best young corners in the game in just a month of action, answering tough coverage tests each week while earning Rookie of the Month honors. The No. 17 overall pick looked like a No. 1 cornerback in every sense of the role.
The hope will obviously be that Jackson’s proven track record and experience in New England will let him hit the ground running in his return. That when he takes the field against Chris Olave, Michael Thomas and the talented Saints he’ll do so with a rekindled success rate, putting his lucrative and disappointing time with the Chargers in the rearview mirror.
But it won’t be easy. There will be questions about Jackson’s health. And there will certainly be questions as to whether he – along with the potential forthcoming returns of Jack Jones and Jonathan Jones – can pick up the slack in the back end where Gonzalez had made such an immediate and impressive positive impact for a team that desperately needed it.
Now, it’s up to Jackson to at least help fill the void.
2 – When Jackson takes the Gillette Stadium turf against New Orleans, he’ll become the 29th player to have at least two different stints with Bill Belichick’s team since 2000. The list includes such notable names as current left tackle Trent Brown, running back LeGarrette Blount, linebacker Jamie Collins, linebacker Kyle Van Noy, wide receiver Deion Branch and others.
Branch, who was traded to the Seahawks after establishing himself as a Super Bowl MVP in New England, set the standard for impressive returns to Foxborough. Traded back to the Patriots in early October of 2010, Branch jumped back into the starting lineup to catch nine passes for 98 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown in a key 23-20 win over the rival Ravens at Gillette.
3 – Blount’s return to the Patriots after literally and figuratively walking out on his time with the Steelers wasn’t too shabby, either. The big running back suited up for New England just days after being released by Pittsburgh in 2014 and immediately hit the ground running for the Patriots with 12 rushes for 78 yards and a pair of touchdowns, matching his scoring from 11 previous games that season with Steelers.
If Jackson can rekindle his play the way Branch and Blount did immediately upon their returns to New England it would be a boon for the back end of the defense that certainly needs it with Gonzalez sidelined and the team in much need of a win the midst of the 1-3 start to the season.
4 – If Jackson might be expected to provide a spark to the defense as a newcomer, one of the best places to look for a potential spark to the offense might be rookie receiver Demario Douglas. The sixth-round pick out of Liberty was the story of the summer in training camp for New England and has shown flashes of playmaking ability through four weeks of action. Douglas has been targeted 15 times this season, leading to nine catches for 119 yards (13.2 avg.). The quick slot option is the only New England target with multiple 20-yard receptions on the season. His playing time pales in comparison to DeVante Parker (62 percent), Kendrick Bourne (64 percent) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (59 percent), though Douglas’ 26-percent for the year was impacted by his being benched in Week 2 following a fumble against Miami.
At this point, though, with the New England offense struggling and Mac Jones needing as many open, capable, productive options to turn to as possible, it’s probably time for Douglas to see his playing time and chances take an uptick. He certainly has shown he can make plays, something that most of his other veteran teammates have struggled to do despite more playing time and more opportunities.
5 – It’s been a bit of a broken record of hope here through the first month, but another place the Patriots could and should look for a spark to the offense is running back Rhamondre Stevenson. Though he was listed as limited in practice due to a thigh injury this week the fact that the team didn’t elevate Kevin Harris from the practice squad would seem to indicate that Stevenson will be in uniform against New Orleans. Banged up or not, at some point the guy expected to be the Patriots’ best offensive player this season needs to start contributing to the team. Through four games Stevenson is averaging a putrid 2.7 yards per carry on his 60 rushing attempts. His best game was 59 yards against the Jets. His best run picked up 12 yards against Miami. He has just one touchdown. In the bottom-line, production-based world of football it’s well past time for Stevenson to start bringing a more productive, positive impact to the Patriots’ offense, although it may not be easy against a Saints squad that ranks 11th in the NFL in run defense and has held its last two opponents below 3.7 yards per carry as a team.
6 – Another theoretical boost for the offense, particularly the work-in-progress offensive line, is the return to health of veteran tackle addition Riley Reiff. Expected to compete for the starting right tackle spot when he signed with New England this offseason, Reiff missed the first four games on IR with a knee injury. Both Vederian Lowe and Calvin Anderson struggled at the spot over the first month and getting Reiff back could offer more stability and certainly experience on the right side. Maybe that will help Jones, Stevenson and the rest of Bill O’Brien’s scuffling offense by extension. Maybe? Although the right tackle spot has been a dismal position for more than a year now, save for a few Conor McDermott successful outings late last season that caused Bill Belichick to say at the time “Thank God we have him.”
7 – Prediction Time!: There are a lot of similarities between the Patriots (1-3) and Saints (2-2) as the teams prepare to face off Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. Each brings a more than capable defense to the matchup.
Each brings an offense that is lackluster and underachieving through a month of action. Of course New Orleans’ disappointing offense comes thanks to questions about scheme and coaching more than talent for a lineup of weapons that includes Olave, Thomas and Alvin Kamara. Meanwhile, New England continues to search for anyone to make plays on offense in O’Brien’s return to his coordinator role. As both teams struggle to find their way, this game would seem to be far more important for the home squad, a “gotta have it” game for a team with just one win looking up in the AFC East at the impressive Bills and Dolphins. No player may be more in the spotlight this week in the entire NFL than Mac Jones. The third-year QB melted down and was benched in Dallas after his worst performance as a pro. Can he bounce back at home against a defense that will make life tough on him? Jones faces more questions by the day, as Bailey Zappe apparently picks up a few more practice reps. Meanwhile the New England defense will play its first game since losing the team’s two best players in Matthew Judon and Gonzalez. That’s a huge blow that could create opportunities for a banged up Derek Carr and the Saints’ offense. This certainly doesn’t project as a high-scoring game on paper. Turnovers as always will be key, an area that favors the Saints (even on the season) compared to the Patriots (minus-5). Still, this feels like a game the Patriot need to win and have been able to win in recent years to maintain their place in the mediocre middle of the NFL pack. It won’t be easy.
It will probably be in question in the fourth quarter. But the optimistic take here is that the Patriots find the way to win a 20-13 battle to calm the early season waters just bit for at least another week.
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