FOXBOROUGH -- Matt Judon hasn't played a real game for the Patriots, but you wouldn't know it based on how he and his teammates are speaking.
On Thursday, Patriots captain Dont'a Hightower said he sets the mood for the entire defense.
“It’s been great,” he said. “Judy’s a character, man. He definitely sets the whole mood for the defense as far as the music in the locker room and just kind of — he works hard, and he has fun doing it.
"I think overall, that’s the one thing that guys really respect and appreciate from Judon. Coming in, being a new guy, new signing or whatever, but him coming in and working as hard as he does, not loafing and wanting to push guys to do a little bit more, a little bit extra and having a lot of fun along the way. I think a lot of guys appreciate and respect that.”
Judon also spoke and was asked why the transition has been so easy, and he was honest.
“I think it’s not me, it’s them,” he said. “You hear that, and it’s kind of a BS statement, right? But I really haven’t changed anything I’ve done since I’ve been in the league. I come in, play music, talk trash. I’m loud, and I believe they all just accept it. Like, all right, this is who this guy is, and this is how he’s been since he’s been in the league. And they kind of asked LG (Lawrence Guy), because LG was (in Baltimore) when I was younger, and Carl Davis (another ex-Ravens teammate). They were like, ‘Uhh, has he changed since he got money?’ And it’s always, ‘No.’"
Judon signed a four-year deal worth up to $56 million this offseason.
Based on the limited action we saw in the preseason, he seems primed for a huge first year in New England.