New England Patriots TE A.J. Derby making strong roster case

The New England Patriots have Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett already at TE, and now A.J. Derby is up making big plays in preseason action…

As a 2015 sixth round pick, New England Patriots tight end A.J. Derby definitely isn’t the headliner when it comes to his own position on this roster.

Derby is part of a position that includes two Pro Bowl players in Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett, and after missing his entire rookie season with injury, the expectations weren’t very high coming into year two.

So far through training camp and two weeks of the preseason, Derby has done a phenomenal job, and actually led the Patriots in receiving against the Bears in week two. He also scored a touchdown in the red zone, and gave the Patriots some really good looks on his way to potentially winning the no. 3 tight end position with this team.

A man typically of few words, Bill Belichick spoke highly of Derby and the progress that he’s made this offseason:

“A.J. has had a solid and pretty consistent several months for us here, going all the way back to the spring, to the offseason program, to (organized team activities), minicamp, training camp,” Belichick said.

“He has shown up every day. “He’s improving. He’s a young player that only played the position for a short amount of time, basically a year down in Arkansas, has a lot to learn, has a ways to go, but has some skills to work with. He’s a smart kid, he works hard, and he’s gotten better. He’s making some plays for us in the kicking game, some tackles in coverage. He has caught the ball and blocked competitively. He’s done some good things.”

Coming into the league out of Arkansas, Derby got his start in college as a member of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz and Belichick share many of the same philosophies, and the foundation of versatility that was laid down at Iowa provided Derby with a launching point for his NFL career.

Derby came to Iowa as a four-star ‘athlete’ but a quarterback by trade. There was definitely potential there as a quarterback, but it just didn’t work out for Derby, who ultimately wound up changing positions and playing linebacker and special teams for a bit.

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It wasn’t what Derby had envisioned for his Iowa career, so he made his way to Arkansas for a chance to compete at the quarterback position there, and he did for a brief period before he moved to the tight end position.

The experiment at tight end turned out to be a great one for Derby, and a move that has given him a legit shot at a career in the NFL. He’s an all-around good football player, offering the Patriots as a pass catcher, a special teams player, someone who can come in and hit hard and play tough, and maybe in an emergency situation, he can throw the ball.

Most athletes in the NFL come in with a strong athletic background and plenty of versatility, but the Patriots really know how to value that and use it. Derby is a guy who might be buried on the depth chart behind two really great players at the position, but he’s certainly going to be utilized this season.

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