The Patriots safety room, like many other positions on their defense, has high-end talent at the top and virtually zero proven depth. The room is headlined by veteran Kevin Byard, rising star Craig Woodson and special teams standout Dell Pettus. John Saunders Jr., Mike Brown, Eric Butler, Brenden Schooler and Peter Manuma fill the team's depth.

Heading into the summer, the Patriots’ third safety spot was up for grabs, with former Titan Mike Brown appearing to have the inside track for the job. Brown had a good spring and was repping as the third safety throughout the team’s practices.

When the team broke for camp, Brown’s spot remained in place, but just a day later, third-year safety Dell Pettus repped in Brown’s place. The next day, it was John Saunders as the third guy. It became evident the team wanted a look at each of the team’s top depth options in that third safety role.

As each training camp practice went by, Pettus looked more and more like the guy at the spot. The rearranging of the depth chart, from the spring to the summer, made sense. Pettus, to me, is the far better player. Last year, we saw the former Troy safety break up and make an impact on a few game-changing plays.

One of which came on a big third down in the team’s week nine matchup against the Falcons. Pettus, lined up in the slot, showed tight coverage on tight end Kyle Pitts, causing Michael Penix’s pass to fall incomplete.

Additionally, Pettus looked good in the preseason game, finishing the 13-13 tie with four tackles and a fumble recovery.

For most of camp, the depth chart has gone as follows: Pettus, Brown, Saunders. However, that changed in Sunday’s walkthrough, as Saunders appeared to leapfrog Brown in the depth chart and take over the fourth safety spot.

The reasoning is plain and simple: Saunders has made more of an impact than Brown. Saunders had two interceptions in training camp, both coming in one-minute drills, as well as picking off Riley Leonard in the preseason contest.

The takeaways and impact plays Saunders has provided all summer long were finally enough to bump him up the depth chart in Sunday’s walkthrough.

While Saunders and Pettus have had impressive camps, it’s important to mention that Brown has not been good. There haven’t been many “wow” plays provided by the fifth-year safety, and it’s been a quiet camp, with more negative than positive for Brown.

Brown’s tape from past seasons demonstrated him having a tough time tackling and his lack of ‘play speed,’ which is very important for a safety. It was confusing why the team was so high on him.

Brown’s time with the Patriots is nowhere near over; however, there is a real shot that the safety doesn’t make the original 53-man roster. This coming just weeks after his spot looked as secure as any third-string player on the team.

As for the rest of the depth in the room, Manuma, the hard-hitting safety the team signed after a successful rookie mini camp tryout, has had a quiet summer working with the third team. Butler was a late addition and likely a camp body.

The third safety spot is going to be a position battle to look out for over the duration of the summer and something that will play a crucial role in the team’s 2026 defense.