Previewing the Patriots safety heading into his first NFL season.
The New England Patriots made some investments in their safety room this offseason. Besides drafting Craig Woodson in the fourth round, they also signed Marcus Epps in free agency and re-signed Jaylinn Hawkins. They also brought one player in as part of their class of undrafted free agents.
Hard facts
Name: Josh Minkins Jr.
Position: Safety
Jersey number: 16
Opening day age: 23 (1/21/2002)
Measurements: 6’1 1/8”, 207 lbs, 31” arm length, 9 1/8” hand size, 4.54s 40-yard dash, 7.15s 3-cone drill, 4.20s short shuttle, 38” vertical jump, 10’8” broad jump, 15 bench press reps, 9.53 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2025-) | College: Louisville (2020-23), Cincinnati (2024)
A three-star safety recruit, Minkins received his first scholarship offer during his junior season at Ballard High School in Louisville, KY. Ten others followed, with the final of them coming from his hometown team, the Louisville Cardinals. He decided not to pass that particular opportunity up and joined the school in 2020.
Over the next four seasons, Minkins developed into a starter in the team’s secondary. However, after appearing in 38 games with 13 starts and picking up a pair of passes, he decided to transfer to Cincinnati for his final year of eligibility. As a Bearcat, he added 11 more games plus two more interceptions to his résumé.
Minkins joined the Patriots as a rookie free agent after the 2025 NFL Draft.
Scouting report
Strengths: Standing at over 6-foot-1 and 207 pounds, Minkins is a well-built player who combines size with some workable athletic traits. While not the most agile runner, he has shown burst to close down on offensive players and can turn his hips while backpedalling. He also has shown the ability to read the quarterback and locate the football in the air, all while having the versatility to line up both deep, in the box, and in the slot.
Minkins furthermore improved his discipline through his college career; after getting flagged four times in 2022, that number dropped to one and eventually zero the next two seasons. In general, he seems to be wired right: he became a leader and important communicator at Cincinnati despite being a transfer arrival and also began hosting a free youth football camp during his career at Louisville.
Weaknesses: While Minkins posted a good Relative Athletic Score during his pre-draft preparation, he was not always able to use his athletic skill on the field. He was slow to the ball at times and got beaten deep on occasion, while also taking questionable angles when coming down to make tackle attempts; the latter was an issue throughout his college career: he had a missed tackle rate of 16.6 percent during his stints at Louisville and Cincinnati. Consistency as a whole has been a problem for Minkins.
2024 review
Stats: 11 games (11 starts) | 466 defensive snaps, 75 special teams snaps | 45 tackles, 9 missed tackles (16.7%), 1 TFL, 1 fumble recovery | 14 targets, 8 catches surrendered (57.1%), 91 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs | 1 special teams tackle
Season recap: Coming off a disappointing 2023 campaign that was disrupted by a hamstring injury, Minkins decided to leave Louisville and enter the transfer portal. A three-star transfer recruit, he initially committed to West Virginia before flipping to Cincinnati.
Reuniting with his former head coach, Scott Satterfield, it did not take Minkins long to start making plays for his new team. After registering six tackles and three pass breakups in his Big 12 debut, he notched his first interception the following week against Pittsburgh.
Minkins keeps Pitt off the board with the PICK
@Big12Conference | @GoBearcatsFB#Big12FB #Big12 #Cincinnati #GoBearcats pic.twitter.com/uj9JFqEvvX— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) September 7, 2024
Minkins did miss the following week’s game with an injury, but added another INT in his return to the field against Houston. He later also recovered a fumble in a loss to Iowa State in November.
His three total turnovers marked a single-season career high, and might have been the result of his changed role. After playing mostly free safety at Louisville, he was moved closer to the box upon arriving in Cincinnati — a role he appeared to be more comfortable in.
In general, his lone season as a Bearcat was a positive one for Minkins. He showed his adaptability coming over from the Cardinals, and right away turned into a valuable player for his new school.
2025 preview
Position: Multiple safety | Ability: Camp body/Practice squad candidate | Contract: Signed through 2027
What will be his role? Minkins has shown an ability to play multiple roles in college, and the expectation is that the Patriots will move him around as well in hopes of finding out where he fits best within their defense. Regardless of role, however, he projects as a backup option that will need to make noise on special teams in order to make the roster or practice squad.
What is his growth potential? Minkins does have some untapped potential based on his athletic testing, but he will also need to get more consistent as a processor and tackler in order to stick in the NFL. If so, he could develop into a do-it-all role player on defense and in the kicking game further down the line.
Does he have positional versatility? Based on his college usage, the answer is yes: Minkins played all over the secondary at both Louisville and Cincinnati, and also brings special teams experience to the table. While it seems unlikely that he will wear multiple hats to start his pro career, the foundation for a multi-faceted role is there.
What is his salary cap situation? Minkins signed a standard three-year free agency deal with the Patriots that is coming with a cap number of $842,666. However, that number is not high enough to qualify him for Top 51 status, which means that only his $2,666 signing bonus proration is currently counted versus the cap. His base salary, which at the moment stands at $840,000, will not hit the books until he makes either the active roster or practice squad.
How safe is his roster spot? The Patriots have a deep safety group, and if we had to rank its individual members from 1 to 9 — roster locks to longshots — Minkins probably would come in ninth. Granted, he is cheap and the team saw something in him as a UDFA, but the composition of the current room plus his lack of experience relative to the rest of his new teammates suggests that he is facing an uphill climb.
Summary: While the Patriots seem mostly set at safety heading into 2025, the group’s future beyond this coming season is less clear. As a result, keeping a developmental player like Minkins around on the practice squad would make sense.
What do you think about Josh Minkins heading into the 2025 season? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.