Most of the attention in New England is on the quarterback position following the drafting of Drake Maye at No. 3 overall, but defensive stalwart Matt Judon has big plans of his own brewing on the other side of the ball.
Judon, who saw a streak of four straight Pro Bowls ended in 2023 thanks to a torn biceps, is on the comeback trail looking to show he still has it in his age-32 season.
"I'm out for a vendetta," he said Thursday on The Money Down . "I got s--- to prove and I got stuff I want to get done in my career. Personally, I'm on all B.S. all year. I'm about to turn the dial back."
Judon was a prize addition by the Pats in 2021. He built off a pair of stellar campaigns with the Ravens by amassing a career-high 12.5 sacks for New England's No. 2 ranked scoring defense, then bested that mark by three more sacks in 2022 even as the D fell outside the top 10 in scoring for the first time in 11 seasons and just the fifth time in Bill Belichick's tenure to that point.
The unit's output diminished again in 2023. Judon appeared in just four games before tearing his biceps, an early omen to a 4-13 Patriots season that was beset by injuries and poor play, and ultimately resulted in Belichick's departure.
Given New England's struggles, the journey back to contention under new head coach Jerod Mayo appears an arduous one. But just as Judon, who believes he's "back 100 percent," has a personal goal of performing again among the elite, he foresees the Patriots as a whole hanging tough in 2024.
"I know it's not gonna be the same, and we're not gonna be the same Patriots," Judon said. "It's gonna look different. It's gonna feel different. But we're not laying down for nobody. We're not trying to rebuild. It's not a post-apocalypse. We just got a new coach, and [Bill Belichick] was there for a long time and he was a great coach. He was great for the organization. He did everything in his power to win championships. But now it's Mayo time to do the exact same thing."
As Maye gets set to duke it out with Jacoby Brissett for the starting QB job on an offense with countless tweaks, the defense should hit the ground running with chemistry despite a changed regime.
New England's brass recognized where the needs were, bypassing the defensive side of the ball in the draft on seven of eight picks, only spending a sixth-rounder on the secondary. The Patriots instead signed back talents like defensive tackle Christian Barmore, safety Kyle Dugger and pass rushers Anfernee Jennings and Josh Uche.
Mayo, just 38, spent the past five years coaching the team's linebackers, adding more familiarity even if the Patriots culture will inevitably be different in the post-Belichick era.
It all presents an opportunity for Judon to seamlessly slide back into his leadership role and perform -- and as he says, enact vengeance.
Doing so at a high level would behoove the 32-year-old heading into a contract year.
If he comes back healthy and like the Judon of old, he could earn another solid deal heading into the latter stages of his career. If the Patriots perform similarly around him, they could kick off a new era with greater success than expected.
