With the season opener in Miami creeping up fast, the New England Patriots just dropped a couple of roster bombs: they re-signed offensive lineman Ben Brown and snagged rookie linebacker Erick Hunter. Talk about fine-tuning right down to the wire, with just over a week to go until game one. These aren’t just minor tweaks; these are moves meant to reshape the edges of their 53-man roster, bringing in some serious athletic upside.
This Rookie Is a Speed Demon, No Joke
Dude, this Hunter kid is a physical freak. He didn’t get selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, but his pre-draft testing? Insane. This former Morgan State product, who racked up 298 tackles in college, put up a pretty solid 8.64 Relative Athletic Score. What really blows your mind is his *explosiveness*. Forget the three-cone drill for a sec; his burst and long speed are off the charts. We’re talking 98th percentile among linebackers in the last four decades for both his 40-yard dash and broad jump. Yeah, game speed is different from testing speed , guys like Robert Spillane, who ran a 4.77-second 40, show that read-and-react matters more. But man, Hunter’s got an NFL-caliber athletic foundation, no doubt about it.
Depth Questions Loom Large at Linebacker
Now, about that linebacker room. Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss are solid, proven starters at the top. But look past them, and you start seeing some question marks, even with Hunter in the mix. This 23-year-old rookie is still a relatively unproven commodity, and he’s one of two new rookies now backing up the main guys. The 53-man roster has Spillane, Elliss, Namdi Obiazor, Darius Muasau, and Hunter himself. Then there’s K.J. Britt on the practice squad, who’s got some experience, and Khalil Jacobs is chilling on injured reserve with a short-term issue. Honestly, as long as Spillane and Elliss are healthy, the Patriots should be in decent shape. But Muasau, who’s seen a decent number of snaps over his first two NFL seasons and worked with this coaching staff before, he’s probably the real wild card compared to the rookies Hunter and Obiazor.
So what’s Hunter’s role gonna be on defense? TBD. But if I had to bet my last dollar, this kid is gonna be flying around on special teams from day one. That athletic profile? It screams special teams ace. He reportedly got plenty of reps there, so you don’t bring in a guy with that kind of raw speed and not throw him into the kicking game. The clock’s ticking for New England with their season opener in Miami less than two weeks away. Keep an eye on how they deploy Hunter. Can his raw athleticism translate into immediate impact, especially on special teams, and will it shore up some of those lingering questions in the linebacker depth? This opening game will be huge for setting the tone.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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