On paper, the New England Patriots have one of the best starting cornerback duos in the NFL. So far this training camp, however, Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis have only spent limited time together on the field: with the exception of the first and third practices this summer, the Patriots have not had both available at the same time.
This, in turn, has put pressure on the rest of the depth chart. It also opened up opportunities for some unheralded players to see an increase in practice reps.
Tops among them is second-year defender D.J. James.
The former practice squad member may have entered camp in relative obscurity, but he has since earned starter-level reps on the outside. He also has made the most of them, regularly finding himself around the ball and also catching the first interception of this year’s camp.
“D.J. James always gets around the ball. He’s always around the ball,” the 24-year-old explained on Thursday.
James originally entered the NFL as the 192nd overall selection in the sixth round of the 2024 draft. Starting out with the Seattle Seahawks, he found his way onto the Patriots’ practice squad to weeks into the regular season. He spent the rest of his rookie campaign on New England’s developmental roster without seeing any playing time, but was retained via a reserve/futures contract after the season.
That deal, which carries a value of only $840,000, gave James the chance to compete for a role this spring and summer. And compete, he did: with Carlton Davis in and out of the lineup due to an undisclosed injury, and with Christian Gonzalez hurting his hamstring on Monday, his snaps increased in quantity and quality.
“D.J. is one of those players that’s improved from the end of the spring until now, and he’s taken advantage of some players that aren’t there,” said head coach Mike Vrabel. “So, then he moves up a group or whatever that may be, and therefore he’s taking advantage of his opportunities, and he’ll continue to earn more opportunities. D.J. is an improved player through the short time that we’ve been here.”
For James himself, that process started in the offseason.
“My offseason was different this year. I really pushed myself to those points that I knew I could get to,” he explained.
“Just knowing that when those guys go down that it’s no drop-off. Just taking advantage of the opportunities that I get. I’m thankful for those opportunities. I’m thankful that my coaches gave me the opportunity to showcase myself and my talents, and then just going out there every day competing with some great guys. … It’s a huge opportunity to me, just to showcase to my coaches and also my teammates that I’m somebody they can count on when that time comes.”
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