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Patriots' Deatrich Wise, Jonathan Jones Excel With Expanded Playing Time

BOSTON (CBS) -- Injuries and reduced roles for key players have called for others on the Patriots defense to step up in the first two games of the season. On Sunday in New Orleans, rookie defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. and backup cornerback Jonathan Jones were the ones who made their presence felt.

Wise particularly turned heads, notching a sack against Saints quarterback Drew Brees and hitting or pressuring him on several other plays in the Patriots' 36-20 win. Wise got a bump from 17 to 28 total snaps. Fellow Rookie Adam Butler jumped from 20 snaps to 45, benefitting greatly from Alan Branch's drastic reduction in playing time (42 snaps in Week 1 to just six in Week 2).

But in just his second career NFL game, it was Wise who made the most of his added snaps.

The fourth-round pick out of Arkansas had a good training camp before a head injury slowed his development in the preseason. Despite the strong showing on Sunday, Wise said all the right things as a newcomer eager to improve. He even said he's still far behind his teammates and has plenty to catch up on as the season progresses.

"I'm still learning. I'm a rookie," said Wise. "So I obviously have a lot to learn about the game, about the playbook, and about this whole thing."

Jones, meanwhile, saw significantly more snaps on defense than in Week 1. The core special teamer played 27 snaps on defense after playing just three against the Chiefs, filling in after Eric Rowe left with an injury. Jones was surprisingly excellent as Brees tested him repeatedly down the field, breaking up a potential touchdown to Saints wideout Ted Ginn and ultimately holding the opposition to a field goal in the second quarter.

Safety Duron Harmon praised Jones' effort on Sunday, and didn't seem surprised about it based on the corner's preseason performance.

"Jon Jones has been playing good ball all camp, and for him to go out there, I don't think there was anybody more excited than me," said Harmon. "Every time he made a play I was over there."

Jones and Wise both ended up with "above average" grades from Pro Football Focus, as Wise finished with an 84.0 while Jones earned an 84.9. Wise has an 83.9 pass rushing grade and 84.1 overall from PFF through two weeks, the latter of which ranks him 12th among all NFL "edge defenders".

It's possible that Jones earned himself more snaps in coverage with his play on Sunday, especially if Malcolm Butler is having issues with Bill Belichick. But it's more likely that Jones' fill-in time was just to cover while Rowe was sidelined. Wise, on the other hand, has a real opportunity to earn a major role on the Patriots' defensive front if he can keep it up - or get even better.

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