Patriots Secondary Restructure Underway – Player Profile Jimmy Jean, DB UAB
Tall, physical CB from UAB may make transition to free safety
With the loss of both starting cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner from the Super Bowl winning roster, the secondary for the Patriots will be looking quite different once the 2015 season begins. With a lot of depth but at the position but questions over starting caliber players, the competition will be wide open for players such as Logan Ryan, Malcolm Butler, Bradley Fletcher, Kyle Arrington and Chimdi Chekwa to carve out a role in the starting lineup.
After much talk of the Pats adding a corner early in the 2015 NFL Draft, the team eschewed the top corners available, waiting until the 7th round to land Darryl Roberts, from the Thundering Herd of Marshall with the 247th pick in the draft.
The Patriots then added a cornerback to their undrafted rookie free agent haul by signing Jimmy Jean, from University of Alabama – Birmingham last week.
Jean is an older prospect at age 26 who was a basketball player before switching over to football and playing JUCO football at Arkansas Baptist. In 2013 he was the only member of the Blazers’ defense to start every game and had 42 tackles, six pass breakups, seven passes defensed, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble and an interception in 2014.
He has good length at 6’2, 201 and with his longer arms is able to disrupt routes at the line and force receivers to run lateral. Very aggressive and a tough competitor, Jean had some penalty flag issues downfield as he continued to bump and has a tendency to be grabby downfield.
His size, natural athleticism coming from a basketball background and his physicality will make him an interesting if raw prospect to watch as the Patriots try to find a niche for him. He lacks that extra gear to run with the speediest wide receivers and will struggle to keep up if he gets behind an opponent.
At his Pro-Day, Jean ran a 4.57 in the 40, had a 35.5 vertical jump, a 9’09” broad jump and a 7.34 time in the Three-cone Drill.
Where Does He Fit for the Patriots: Jean mostly played CB for the now defunct program at UAB, but may be looking at converting to free safety for the Patriots at the next level. His good size and length with his ability to play tight coverage with the play in front of him, may ease his transition to the pros.
Jean is a long-shot to make the roster, but last year, no one gave cornerback Malcolm Butler much of a chance to make the 53 man roster and we all saw how that turned out.
For now, he’ll have to make his mark on special teams, he had some reps as a kick returner in 2013, and learn how to be the backup center fielder behind Devin McCourty. He did play some safety in college so his versatility will be a plus.
Here is a highlight film of Jean against Southern Mississippi:
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