Previewing the Patriots edge heading into his sixth NFL season.
The New England Patriots appeared to have strength in numbers along the defensive edge entering their 2024 training camp. Matthew Judon, Joshua Uche and Anfernee Jennings were joined by free agency pickup Oshane Ximines to give the team a solid four-player rotation.
Fast forward to the tail-end of the regular season, and only Jennings remained on the active roster. Move a bit further to the preparation for the team’s 2025 camp, and the 28-year-old is the only one of those four players still with the team. With the Patriots’ edge undergoing a transformation process, he is the old guard left standing.
Hard facts
Name: Anfernee Jennings
Position: Defensive edge/Outside linebacker
Jersey number: 33
Opening day age: 28 (5/1/1997)
Measurements: 6’2 1/8”, 255 lbs, 79 1/2” wingspan, 32 7/8” arm length, 9 1/8” hand size, N/A Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2020-) | College: Alabama (2015-19)
A four-star linebacker recruit out of Dadeville High School in Dadeville AL, Jennings was a popular player on the scouting trail. Picking up offers from several Power 5 teams including Georgia and Clemson, he decided to stay home and joined the University of Alabama in 2015.
Over the next five seasons, he appeared in 54 games for the Crimson Tide and registered 194 tackles, 15.5 sacks, as well as a pair of interceptions and fumble recoveries each — all while overcoming what could have been a career-ending knee injury suffered during the 2017-18 college football playoff. Less than two years later, he was named first-team All-SEC and set the stage to becoming an early-round pick in the NFL Draft.
The Patriots ended up selecting him 87th overall in the third round in 2020, and primarily used him as a role player early on. His 2023 season, however, saw him take a major step in his development: with Pro Bowler Matthew Judon missing most of the year due to injury, Jennings moved into a starting role and became one of the top run-defending edges in football.
In total, he has seen action in 61 games since arriving in New England. Jennings has 191 tackles and 5.5 sacks on his résumé; he also forced a pair of fumbles and registered one recovery.
Scouting report
Strengths: Jennings fills out his 6-foot-2 frame well and uses his size to set a stout edge in the run game. He has advanced instincts and a natural feel for blocking schemes and misdirection, allowing him to find ball carriers and limit the damage at the point of attack even when initially engaged. He times his swipes well and generally sheds blocks quickly and efficiently, while a firm base and powerful upper body make it hard for both linemen and tight ends to move him off the ball.
Jennings also is a strong player from the backside. He maneuvers through traffic and is effective in pursuit while also typically finishing his blocks. The last two seasons, he also showed that he can stay physical despite an extended workload and contribute in the passing game. A smart player, he has shown growth as a leader since coming to New England.
Weaknesses: Jennings offers good play strength but does not complement it with a particularly explosive athletic skillset. His acceleration and speed are good enough but nothing special, and he neither has the quickest feet nor the best bend around the edge. All of that is impacting his productivity as a pass rusher: he has some solid fundamentals and moves but lacks the standout traits to regularly overwhelm blockers or get by them to reach the backfield.
Jennings also takes the occasional over-aggressive angle toward the ball carrier. He also has had limited success making plays on the ball in his career.
2024 review
Stats: 16 games (16 starts) | 831 defensive snaps (74.3%), 38 special teams snaps (8.7%) | 78 tackles, 6 missed tackles (7.1%), 7 TFLs, 1 forced fumble | 31 quarterback pressures (2.5 sacks, 6 hits, 22 hurries) | 8 targets, 7 catches surrendered (87.5%), 70 yards | 2 penalties
Season recap: Coming off the best season of his career up until that point, Jennings and the Patriots reached an agreement on a three-year, $12 million extension that would keep him in New England through 2026. The first of those three seasons was his most productive to date.
Starting all 16 games he appeared in, Jennings set multiple career marks in 2024 including playing his most ever snaps (831). He also reached new heights in tackles (78) as well as in sacks (2.5) and quarterback pressures (31).
More than anything, this is a sign of how his role continued to evolve in his fifth season in the league: whereas he was mostly an early-down role player earlier in his career, Jennings became a three-down contributor against both the pass and the run in 2024. While some of that is due to the personnel the Patriots had available, is also speaks for his continued development as a player.
His numbers compared to his teammates reflect this: Jennings led the Patriots in solo run game tackles (37) and ranked second in QB pressures and third in sacks. And while his production especially against the pass did not stand out in a league-wide comparison, he remained among the better outside run defenders in the NFL. He ranked sixth in run stops (37) and 10th in run stop rate (9.3%) among qualifying edges.
That does not mean Jennings’ season was an overwhelming success. His disruptiveness as a pass rusher left some to be desired; he had some up-and-down stretches of play particularly during the heavy-usage middle part of his season; he was on the receiving end of a momentum-changing roughing the passer call against Arizona in Week 15; and he dealt with shoulder and knee injuries.
On the whole, however, Jennings can feel good about how the 2024 season went for him on an individual level. He was the Patriots’ most reliable edge for a second straight year, and showed why the team was willing to invest in him.
2025 preview
Position: Base ED | Ability: Fringe starter/Role player | Contract: Signed through 2026
What will be his role? Despite playing a career high 426 passing game snaps in 2024, Jennings still projects as a base defender and early-down edge for the Patriots heading into 2025. A premier run defender, he will complement pass-first players like Keion White, K’Lavon Chaisson and Bradyn Swinson as well as all-around ED Harold Landry.
What is his growth potential? Jennings showed some serious development from his first three seasons in the NFL to his most recent two. That said, he is at a point in his career where any and all growth projects to be marginal. It seems unlikely that he will ever develop into a standout pass rusher, for example, and will have to continue making his living as a run defender.
Does he have positional versatility? Even though Jennings joined the Patriots as a hybrid linebacker who saw snaps both on and off the ball, he has since become almost an exclusive edge. Add the fact that he has comparatively limited value versus the pass and in the kicking game, and you get a player who cannot be described as particularly versatile.
What is his salary cap situation? As part of the three-year extension Jennings signed with the Patriots last offseason, he is carrying a cap hit of $5.306 million into 2025. That number consists of a $1.85 million base salary, $1 million signing bonus proration, $705,882 in likely to be earned roster bonuses, a $250,000 workout bonus, and $1.5 million in likely to be earned playtime incentives. A total of $2.35 million of Jennings’ 2025 cash intake — $1.35 million of his salary plus his entire signing bonus proration — are fully guaranteed.
How safe is his roster spot? Jennings started a combined 30 games over the last two seasons, is a plus run defender and would come with a dead cap figure of $2.35 million. Nonetheless, his spot on the team is not guaranteed heading into what would be his sixth season in Foxborough. The Patriots, after all, appear to be moving toward more speed and playmaking ability versus the pass with their new defense — attributes Jennings only offers to a certain degree in what has become somewhat of a crowded outside linebacker room.
Summary: The longest-tenured Patriot when measured by contract signing date, Jennings will be worth keeping a close eye on this training camp and preseason. He is not a star player by any means, but somebody who positively contributed to the team in both 2023 and 2024, but who might be in danger of missing out on the roster altogether in 2025.
What do you think about Anfernee Jennings heading into the 2025 season? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.