Pats Pulpit
When Jakob Johnson left the New England Patriots as a free agent in March 2022, so did the fullback position as a whole. Over the next three seasons, the team operated without a traditional lead blocker on its roster.
That changed in 2025. Following the return of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, under whom Johnson himself developed from International Pathway Program participant to NFL-level role player, the position again became a point of emphasis for the team. The question, however, was how to fill it?
Initially, Brock Lampe seemed to be the guy. However, when the undrafted rookie suffered a season-ending foot injury, the Patriots needed to adapt.
They did so by converting tight end Jack Westover.
Primarily a receiving tight end during his six-year college career at the University of Washington, Westover entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Seattle Seahawks in 2024. He found his way to New England in early October that year and ended up seeing action in three games at his listed position. Entering his sophomore season, he was competing for a backup role at tight end behind Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper, but his position change to fullback allowed him to earn a spot on the team.
Since then, Westover has been a regular on offense and special teams. Over the first nine games of the season, the 26-year-old has been on the field for 20% of offensive snaps and 42% in the kicking game.
“He’s worked hard. I think he’s taken ownership of that spot and continued to improve,” said head coach Mike Vrabel. “They normally are never — when you get a diagram, it’s like, ‘OK, go block this guy.’ And then when the ball’s snapped, it never really looks like that. So, he’s done a good job of trying to navigate through some traffic, and create some lanes and some space for us. I think he’s improved on special teams for us, he’s contributed.”
Last Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, Westover had his most active day to date. Lining up both as a classic fullback and an in-line blocker, the versatile youngster played a career-high 31 snaps.
With him leading the way, New England rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown. And while the team’s ground game has gotten off to a comparatively slow start overall, it has stared to trend in the right direction — something that is also true for Westover’s playing time: after finding himself in the single digits over the first three weeks of the season, he has averaged 17 snaps in the six games since.
The arrow keeps pointing up, something his head coach has also noticed.
“Jack’s gotten more comfortable each and every week since training camp,” said Vrabel. “He’s kind of carved out a little role for himself, and that’s been good to see.”
