One of the most frustrating parts of the late Bill Belichick era was the New England Patriots’ uncharacteristic inconsistency on special teams. The addition of coordinator Jeremy Springer under Belichick’s successor, Jerod Mayo, was a step in the right direction (and one of Mayo’s best decisions).
But while Springer does deserve plenty of credit, he is not the only one responsible for the recent turnaround. The group’s on-field leader is as well, and he continues to set the tone in the kicking game
entering 2026.
Hard facts
Name: Brenden Schooler
Position: Safety/Special teamer
Jersey number: 41
Opening day age: 29 (5/30/1997)
Measurements: 6’1 5/8”, 210 lbs, 8 1/2” hand size, 32 1/2” arm length, 78 7/8” wingspan, 4.43s 40-yard dash, 6.71s 3-cone drill, 4.10s short shuttle, 37 1/2” vertical jump, 10’8” broad jump, 16 bench press reps, 9.76 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2022-) | College: Oregon (2016-19), Arizona (2020), Texas (2020-21)
A South California native, Schooler repeatedly changed high schools before his senior year at Mission Viejo, CA. In 2016, he joined the University of Oregon as a two-star wide receiver recruit and went on to spend four seasons with the Ducks. Playing on both sides of the ball as well as on special teams, he appeared in 41 games.
Schooler entered the transfer portal in 2020 and committed to Arizona to team up with his brother Colin, but he left the school a short time later when the Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the Pac-12 season. He moved to Texas, where he spent the final two seasons of his college career — the first one as a wideout, the second as a defensive back.
When Schooler made the move to the NFL in 2022, he did so with a combined 62 games and 31 starts on his résumé. He also had intercepted four passes, forced a fumble and caught 42 passes for 488 yards with four touchdowns.
Despite his versatility, experience and being recognized as a first-team All-Pac-12 special teamer twice (2017, 2018), Schooler did not hear his name called in the 2022 draft. He arrived in New England as a free agent shortly thereafter and quickly made a name for himself as an understudy to Matthew Slater, one of the greatest special teamers in pro football history.
Despite his lack of draft pedigree, he was thus able to become a core special teams presence for the Patriots. Nothing has changed ever since other than Schooler eventually succeeding Slater as the leader in the room and a team captain. In total, he has played 1,531 special teams snaps over his 70 NFL games while leading the team with 56 tackles and a pair of blocks since his arrival. In 2024, he signed a three-year, $9 million contract extension and was both named first-team All-Pro and voted to his first Pro Bowl that very same year.
Scouting report
Strengths: As a size-speed athlete, Schooler is the total package. Standing at just under 6-foot-2 and weighing 210 pounds, he provides impressive length and reach as well as an an excellent athletic skillset. He is a strong linear athlete but also offers the burst and short-area quickness needed to fight his way downfield in kick coverage situations; Schooler is very good at shedding blocking attempts both due to his footwork and active hands at the point of attack.
His get-off and straight-line foot speed allow Schooler to more often than not be the first man to find his way to the returner, and to either make the tackle or disrupt any return lanes. In general, he is an able tackler with a proper wrap-up technique and advanced vision as well as a natural feel for attack angles; he can take down opposing returners even when approaching them at full speed and from the boundary.
Schooler furthermore has been praised for his leadership within the Patriots’ special teams operation. A high-energy presence whenever on the field — and he has been on the field a lot since joining the club — his tone-setting abilities extend from game day to practice.
Weaknesses: Schooler is a rather one-dimensional player entering his fifth season as a pro, with his special teams contributions much more consistent than any role he carved out on defense starting in 2024. His play on that particular side of the ball remains a work in progress, and he still has to build confidence as a coverage defender in both man and zone calls. He also has been a relative non-factor versus the run so far in his relatively short career as a safety rather than a special teamer only.
As for the kicking game itself, he has had some penalty issues. In 2025 alone, Schooler was flagged four times and ranked second on the team behind Carlton Davis in yards lost through penalties (55). He furthermore has had a fairly high missed tackle rate for most of his career.
2025 review
Stats: 20 games (0 starts) | 41 defensive snaps (3.2%), 416 special teams snaps (75.9%) | 5 tackles, 1 missed tackle (16.7%) | 3 targets, 2 catches surrendered (66.7%), 6 yards | 20 special teams tackles, 6 missed tackles (23.1%) | 4 penalties (incl. 0 declined/offsetting)
Season recap: A Pro Bowl selection and first-team All-Pro in 2024, Schooler add another honor to his list of career accomplishments in 2025: for the first time since joining the Patriots, the special teams ace was voted a captain by his peers. The decision further reflected his status as the emotional leader of the club’s kicking game units, and as the spiritual heir to long time captain Matthew Slater.
Schooler’s performance on the field looked the part as well. A regular member of five of New England’s special teams groups, he finished the year with 416 snaps, tying Dell Pettus for the team lead despite missing one game (Week 13 vs. Giants) with an ankle injury.
As they had throughout his career, the Patriots used him in a multi-faceted fashion. Schooler lined up all over the place on the kickoff return, kickoff coverage and punt return crews, for example. He furthermore served on the field goal and extra point blocking units, and was one of the gunners on the punt coverage team.
In his defensive roles, Schooler registered a team-high 20 tackles between the regular season and playoffs. He was credited with six missed tackles, although it needs to be pointed out that a) missed tackles on special teams are oftentimes not quite as dramatic as they can be on defense, and b) he still caused disruption even when not being able to finish some plays; he typically was among the first players to arrive at a returner.
While Schooler again performed at a high level on special teams, his defensive impact was less pronounced than it had been in 2024. A majority of his 41 defensive snaps came in two games, the Patriots’ late-season blowout wins over the Jets (26) and Dolphins (10). He did register five tackles overall on that side of the ball, but had a relatively quiet season as a defender.
On the whole, however, Schooler can be quite happy about how his 2025 season went — even though it ended in a Super Bowl loss and without any individual league honors.
2026 preview
Position: Multiple safety/Core special teamer | Ability: Depth player/Role player/Blue-chip special teamer | Contract: Signed through 2027 (2028 UFA)
What will be his role? Schooler has been given some opportunities on defense since 2024, but his main focus heading into the 2026 season will once again be on the kicking game. One of the top special teamers in the game today, he will be used on five units and keep finding himself among the team leaders in snaps as well as tackles. Defensively, meanwhile, he offers depth at both the free and strong safety positions and the ability to take the field as part of select packages.
What is his growth potential? Schooler is already an All-Pro-caliber special teamer whose admittedly marginal room for growth in that area mostly lies with his finishing and generating big plays. On defense, meanwhile, he needs to become more comfortable carrying out assignments that go beyond spying the quarterback or attacking the pocket as a blitzer. If he can do that, he could develop into a regular third or fourth option at the safety position. That said, the Patriots coaching staff seems pleased with the current arrangement of him being a core special teamer and “break glass in case of emergency” defender.
Does he have positional versatility? Schooler has been a versatile player going back to his high school days, but the Patriots have not fully explored this aspect of his profile yet. Based on his track record, therefore, the majority of his flexibility comes from the kicking game, where he can play at a high level on the Core 4 units (kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return, punt coverage). His willingness to help on defense is a definitive bonus, though.
What is his salary cap situation? As part of the contract extension he signed with the Patriots in October 2024, Schooler is carrying a cap hit of just under $3 million into 2026. The number consists of a base salary ($2M), signing bonus proration ($475k), roster bonus ($423k LTBE + $26k NLTBE) and workout bonus ($100k), and includes $950,000 in guarantees: his entire signing bonus is guaranteed as are $500,000 of his salary.
How safe is his roster spot? Schooler is one of the top-paid special teamers in the NFL, and for good reason: he is an elite and consistent performer both on and off the field. Accordingly, he is a lock to be on the 53-man roster come the regular season.
Summary: One of the biggest criticisms of the Patriots in the past few years has been the relatively low number of blue-chip players at their disposal. Heading into 2026, however, they have one in every phase of the game: Drake Maye on offense, Christian Gonzalez on defense, and Schooler on special teams. And just like the other two, the kicking game captain is a critical part of New England’s operation.
What do you think about Brenden Schooler heading into the 2026 season? Will he continue to be an elite special teamer? Will his defensive contributions increase again? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
