Pats Pulpit
A 53-man roster and 17-member practice squad are set which officially turns the New England Patriots’ attention to Week 1 of the regular season.
Naturally, most of our attention this week was on roster cut down day and the coinciding moves, which is where are focus will be in our weekly wrap-up before the page is turned to the Las Vegas Raiders.
With that said, welcome to the latest edition of our Sunday Patriots Notes.
Since entering the league as a third-round pick in 2023, Marte Mapu has bounced back and forth between safety and linebacker. That was largely due to his skillset, as Mapu has the size step down into the box and the athleticism to hang in the backend.
But under new head coach Mike Vrabel and defensive coordinator Terrell Williams, that flexibility is now being channeled in one direction: linebacker.
Despite being listed at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, Mapu shared he is playing closer to 215 pounds this season — more in-line of the prototype for a second-level defender in Vrabel’s system. And even after missing a period of time this summer, Vrabel has been left impressed by Mapu’s approach to the change.
“He’s been a core special teams player, and has worked at some spots on the inside, and I think that he’s continued to develop,” Vrabel said. “I think he worked extremely hard when he was away to get back in there and to be ready to go, and showed us a lot by getting ready to go for the Giants game. So, clearly shows that he wants to earn a role, and is trying to do that.”
After not being able to build off a strong preseason opener due to injury, Mapu returned for the Patriots’ preseason finale and picked up where he left off.
In addition to showing his coverage skills and closing speed to break up a pass to a running back, Mapu tallied four tackles as showed improved block-shedding against the run.
“Now that I’m down there all the time that’s something I had to add to my game. If I wasn’t able to get off blocks then I probably wouldn’t be here right now to be honest,” Mapu said. “When I first was told that I was going to be moving into the linebacker room, that’s something that I immediately just started trying to be intent about. Ask questions about, and then just practice. It was mostly just trying to rep it.”
Playing closer to the line of scrimmage isn’t entirely new for the 25-year-old. During his time at Sacramento State, Mapu was often used in the box and played in space. That has helped the ease the transition, along with guidance from teammates.
“In college, I was a nickel, so they would move me in the box, outside the box,” he said. “I was more used to playing out in space, but as time went on this year I’ve gotten more comfortable in having people like...
