Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots added some experience to their safety room this offseason, signing both free agents Kevin Byard and Mike Brown to one-year contracts. However, they also added a rookie to the mix: Peter Manuma, who earned a spot on the team after a successful mid-May tryout.
Manuma naturally does not have the same cachet as Brown or especially Byard, but that does not mean the undrafted rookie cannot be a useful player for the team.
Name: Peter Manuma
Position: Safety
Jersey number: 34 (b)
Opening day age: 24 (7/7/2002)
Measurements: 6’0”, 205 lbs, 9 1/8” hand size, 30 3/4” arm length, 4.47s 40-yard dash, 7.01s 3-cone drill, 4.69s short shuttle, 35 1/2” vertical jump, 10’0” broad jump, 12 bench press reps, 7.02 Relative Athletic Score
NFL: New England Patriots (2026-) | College: Hawaii (2022-25)
Manuma played four years of varsity football at James Campbell High School in Ewa Beach, HI, lining up at running back, slotback, linebacker, cornerback and safety. Despite his positional flexibility, the three-star recruit received only two Division I scholarship offers. He eventually opted to stay in his home state, enrolling at the University of Hawaii rather than moving to Central Michigan.
Manuma went on to spend his entire college career with the Rainbow Warriors. He saw extensive action during that span, playing 3,138 combined snaps between defense and special teams. A valuable member of the team from his true freshman campaign on, he appeared in 49 games with 43 starts and finished his career with 280 tackles, five interceptions and three forced fumbles. He also earned honorable mention All-Mountain West recognition in each of his four seasons.
Even though his college career was fairly successful, Manuma did not hear his name called in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Patriots signed him to their roster following a rookie minicamp tryout.
Strengths: The 6-foot-0, 205-pound Manuma is decently built and combines his size with good straight-line speed and acceleration. He combines his natural speed with a quick processor and downhill trigger; he comes flying down from the second level with authority in run support. He also can play elsewhere in the lineup, though, and has the positional versatility to play both as a box safety and — in large part due to his range — a deep-lying free safety. Manuma additionally brings considerable experience, durability and leadership to the table.
Weaknesses: Manuma has an NFL-caliber frame overall, but he lacks the length and reach to consistently challenge bigger receivers at the catch point. In general, he is not the most agile player and better moving in a linear fashion, which leads to some uneven results in man-to-man coverage. His ball skills and ball production have been unremarkable over the last two seasons (1 forced fumble) and his tackling uneven throughout his career (15.6% missed tackle rate). He oftentimes takes overly aggressive angles and seemingly goes for a big hit rather than a sound form tackle.
2025 review -----------...
