Previewing the Patriots cornerback and special teamer heading into his second season in the NFL.
The New England Patriots’ 2024 NFL Draft had a clear focus: of the eight players selected by the team, seven were playing on the offensive side of the ball. The lone exception was sixth-round pick Marcellas Dial Jr.
Entering the league as a cornerback, Dial Jr. saw most of his action in the kicking game as a rookie. Now heading into Year 2, he might be in for a more extensive role.
Hard facts
Name: Marcellas Dial Jr.
Position: Cornerback/Special teamer
Jersey number: 27
Opening day age: 24 (12/6/2000)
Measurements: 5’11 3/4”, 190 lbs, 77 5/8” wingspan, 32” arm length, 8 7/8” hand size, 4.46s 40-yard dash, 7.29s 3-cone drill, 4.42s short shuttle, 40 1/2” vertical jump, 10’9” broad jump, 16 bench press reps, 7.18 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2024-) | College: Georgia Military College (2019-20), South Carolina (2021-23)
A multi-sport athlete who played cornerback and wide receiver at Woodruff High School in Woodruff, SC, Dial Jr. did not get ranked as a recruit and received no FBS or FCS offers. He instead spent two years at Georgia Military College (although he only played in one season to the Covid-19 pandemic) and eventually was listed as a three-star juco recruit.
As such, Dial Jr. returned home and enrolled at South Carolina In January 2021. He spent three years as a Gamecock, appearing in 38 games with 29 starts. He registered 114 tackles, three interceptions as well as one forced fumble and sack each. His productive stint in Columbia set the stage for him getting selected 180th overall by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Dial Jr. played in all 17 games as a rookie, registering a combined 12 tackles between defense and special teams.
Scouting report
Strengths: At just under 6 feet and 190 pounds, Dial Jr. offers adequate size and length at the cornerback position. He combines his build with the straight-line speed to match receivers on vertical patterns and work his way downfield in kick and punt coverage. A former wideout, he has natural ball skills and a fell for attacking the ball either at the catch point or in ball carriers’ hands. He also has shown the competitiveness and physicality required to go up against NFL-level competition.
Weaknesses: Dial Jr. is neither the most explosive nor the most agile player. He is slow turning his hips, which puts him in a challenging position when back-pedaling, click-and-closing or pursing. His processing also needs improvement; at times, he finds himself out of position or overcorrecting previous mistakes because he does not seem confident in his read-and-react skills and route recognition particularly in zone coverage.
2024 review
Stats: 17 games (1 start) | 60 defensive snaps (5.4%), 364 special teams snaps (83.3%) | 5 tackles, 0 missed tackles | 6 targets, 5 catches surrendered (83.3%), 45 yards, 1 TD | 7 special teams tackles, 2 missed tackles (22.2%), 1 forced fumble | 2 penalties
Season recap: Despite riding the rookie rollercoaster throughout the summer, Dial Jr. managed to make the Patriots’ 53-man roster out of training camp. And not just that: from Week 1 on, he was a core member of New England’s kicking game operation and was a regular on five units right out of the gate.
Playing on the kickoff and punt return and coverage teams as well as the field goal/extra point blocking unit, Dial Jr. finished his rookie season with 364 special teams snaps — a 83.3 playing time share ranking second on the team behind only Brenden Schooler’s 86.5. In addition to his role, Dial Jr. also was productive and finished the year third behind Schooler (9) and Christian Elliss (8) in combined tackles (7).
While it was not all sunshine and rainbows — he missed a pair of tackle attempts and showed poor lane discipline on a Jacksonville punt return touchdown in Week 7 — the positive did outweigh the negative for Dial Jr. Besides his availability and versatility, he also forced a fumble in Week 9 versus the Tennessee Titans and made some solid blocks en route to Marcus Jones averaging a career-high 14.8 yards per punt return.
His special teams contributions were what allowed him to play in all 17 games in 2024, because Dial Jr.’s defensive role was quasi non-existent.
The sixth-round selection played just five defensive snaps over the first 16 games of the season, with his remaining 55 on that side of the ball coming in the season finale against Buffalo. Aligning mostly as an outside cornerback, he gave up five catches for 45 yards and a touchdown that day — despite the Bills relying primarily on backup players.
Nonetheless, Dial Jr. and the Patriots can be happy about his play and progression as a rookie.
2025 preview
Position: Inside-out cornerback/Core special teamer | Ability: Depth player/Role player/Quality special teamer | Contract: Signed through 2027
What will be his role? Based on his rookie campaign, Dial Jr. will predominately be used as a special teamer again in 2025; he will see extensive action on five units and be among the Patriots’ leaders in snaps in the game’s third phase. Defensively, he will provide depth both in the slot and on the perimeter. While it is unlikely he will challenge for a starting spot given the talent higher up on the depth chart, his inside-out flexibility might lead to a bigger overall role as a package option.
What is his growth potential? Despite his big special teams role, Dial Jr. also showed at times that he was still a raw player coming into the league. Accordingly, there is significant potential for development, starting with his processing and general confidence on the field. If he can improve those, he could become a quality dime defender besides being a core kicking game contributor.
Does he have positional versatility? Dial Jr. was mostly an outside cornerback as a senior at South Carolina and in Year 1 in New England, but he did get reps in the slot during this year’s offseason program. Whether that is a sign of things to come will be seen, though. Based on his rookie year, his versatility mostly lies within the kicking game: as noted above, he was a five-unit performer in 2024.
What is his salary cap situation? Entering Year 2 of his rookie contract, Dial Jr. is carrying a salary cap hit of $1.013 million. That number is not enough to qualify him for Top 51 status at the moment, which means that only his fully-guaranteed signing bonus proration ($53k) and not his base salary ($960k) is currently counted against New England’s books.
How safe is his roster spot? Based on his special teams role and defensive offseason usage, Dial Jr. is looking like a player who will make a serious push for a roster spot yet again this summer. While he is not a lock to make the team, his outlook is favorable — especially considering that special teams coaches Jeremy Springer and Tom Quinn are among the few holdovers from last year’s coaching staff.
Summary: While offseason workouts are only a small snapshot in the grand scheme of things, the Patriots using Dial Jr. against the top offense at times could be a sign of things to come. He is far from growing into a starting member of the defense, but it looks like he will provide valuable depth in the slot and on the perimeter on top of being one of the team’s most-used special teamers this coming season. It would not be a surprise if his name is mentioned more often in 2025.
What do you think about Marcellas Dial Jr. heading into the 2025 season? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.