Pats Pulpit
Previewing the Patriots safety heading into his first season with the team.
Despite fielding one of the better safety groups in the NFL on paper, the New England Patriots did not get the desired results out of the position in 2024. Kyle Dugger struggled with injuries; Jabrill Peppers spent a majority of the year on the commissioner’s exempt list; Marte Mapu and Jaylinn Hawkins were role players more so than starter-caliber contributors.
While the group’s outlook for 2025 will largely depend on Dugger and Peppers rebounding, the Patriots also made sure to add some more competition to the mix. One of those additions was free agency pickup Marcus Epps.
Name: Marcus Epps
Position: Safety
Jersey number: 22
Opening day age: 29 (1/27/1996)
Measurements: 5’11 5/8”, 195 lbs, 29 1/2” arm length, 10” hand size, 4.55s 40-yard dash, 6.77s 3-cone drill, 4.07s short shuttle, 38 1/2” vertical jump, 10’4” broad jump, 17 bench press reps, 8.49 Relative Athletic Score
NFL: Minnesota Vikings (2019), Philadelphia Eagles(2019-22), Las Vegas Raiders (2023-24) England Patriots (2025-) | College: Wyoming (2014-18)
Epps was not ranked as a recruit out of Edison High School in Huntington Beach, CA, and joined the University of Wyoming as a walk-on in 2014. After redshirting his true freshman campaign, he developed into a starter and team captain for the Cowboys: between 2015 and 2018, he saw action in 50 games and registered nine interceptions — including one returned for a touchdown — as well as five forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries.
His meteoric rise allowed him to hear his name called in the 2019 NFL Draft, with the Vikings selecting him 191st in the sixth round. However, his tenure in Minnesota was short-lived and he was let go by the team in November of his rookie season.
Epps was claimed off waivers by the Eagles and over the subsequent three and a half seasons steadily increased his playing time. By 2022, his final year in Philadelphia, he was one of the team’s starting safeties and on the field for 98.6 percent of defensive snaps en route to a loss in Super Bowl LVII.
Epps turned his performance as an Eagle into a two-year, $12 million contract with the Raiders. In Las Vegas, he picked up where he left off: he started 17 games in his first year and likely would have repeated the feat if not for a torn ACL suffered early in 2024. Following that season, Epps joined the Patriots on a one-year, $2.025 million deal.
The 29-year-old is coming to New England with a combined 92 regular season and playoff games on his NFL résumé.
Strengths: Epps is an experienced player who has shown that he can play various roles in a secondary, and was praised for his veteran leadership during his time in Las Vegas. He is a talented communicator and leader both on and off the field, and was responsible for defensive alignments in what was a young...
