On the Bubble: Tavon Wilson needs to become valuable
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| Tavon Wilson & Co. (Stew Milne - USA TODAY Sports) |
Wilson was not invited to the combine, wasn't on many draft guides, wasn't even an afterthought for most draft experts, many of who projected him to be a 5th round pick at the earliest, but Bill Belichick still selected him in the second round.
Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston once asked this question as well after evaluating the pick. People thought he was crazy, deranged, arrogant, but some just assumed Belichick was being Belichick by picking someone no one has heard of who would turn out to be a star. After his rookie year, some people might have agreed with that idea.
Wilson played safety next to McCourty at times, while providing on the special teams units, accumulating 41 tackles, six passes defended, two fumble recoveries, and four interceptions. Outstanding stats for an undervalued rookie no one had ever heard of. He also provided some highlight plays against rival teams.
The following year, Tavon Wilson now had expectations of him. The Patriots had signed Adrian Wilson (who didn't last long), drafted Duron Harmon, and still had Steve Gregory. Many people thought he would elevate himself to become the starter next to McCourty given his success as a rookie, but it never happened.
Wilson only played in 13 games, recording only three tackles, one pass defended, and one interception (even though he returned it 74 yards for a touchdown). At the end of the year, he wasn't even on the active game day roster. Duron Harmon and Steve Gregory played exclusively in the strong safety role next to McCourty, and Wilson had even been passed up on his special teams duties.
This fall from favor for Wilson could show that Belichick has given up on him, or it could mean he wanted to test Wilson to push himself harder this offseason. Whatever Belichick's intentions, it will be hard for Wilson to make the roster regardless. With the offseason additions of Jemea Thomas in the draft and the return of Patrick Chung, Wilson will also have to compete with Nate Ebner and Duron Harmon for playing time. Both Ebner and Harmon had extensive playing time last year on special teams and defense respectively. Harmon is also looking like the favorite to earn the starting role, and he is preparing for it according to Doug Kyed of NESN.
Ebner is almost exclusively a special teams player after a promising start of his rookie year, that Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston highlighted in this article. That being said, last year Wilson was also almost exclusively a special teams player, and Ebner outperformed him statistically. This training camp is key for the future of these two players on the Patriots, and the only chance they have is to show Belichick and Co. that they are more valuable than the other. Now it is entirely possible that they keep all of these safeties/defensive backs, but I feel as if they have more promising players at other positions.
When all is said and done, I do not see Wilson making the roster, but then again I don't see Ebner making the roster either. There are just too many young players with more promise than both of them to make these two worth keeping. With a veteran presence like Patrick Chung in the mix, who has more experience than Ebner and Wilson combined, I believe he has the leg up on both of them as well. I believe that Jemea Thomas may be on the practice squad, Patrick Chung will make the roster, and it will be a two way fight for a spot between Ebner and Wilson which may end in both losing. Belichick has made surprising moves in the past, so at this point in time, all we can do is wait and see.
Wonder what other players are in danger of being cut? Check out more of our On The Bubble series.
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