Report: Patriots Found Another Impressive Undrafted Cornerback

Almost every year, the New England Patriots discover an undrafted cornerback who turns out to be a major surprise in making plays in practice. This year, it’s New Mexico’s D’Angelo Ross.

He was first caught under the spotlight Wednesday during 1-on-1 drills between cornerbacks and wide receivers. He won all three of his matchups against Dontrelle Inman, Braxton Berrios and Gunner Olszewski with pass breakups over the latter two slot receivers.

On Thursday, he proved himself once again when he won two of his three 1-on-1 matchups with two pass breakups over veteran receiver Maurice Harris.

However, not everyone was surprised by Ross’ performance.

“The reason I would say he hasn’t surprised me is in the classroom,” Jason McCourty said Friday. “He’s been on top of everything. A guy that — sitting next to him in meetings, he writes every single thing down that the coaches say. You can tell how much he’s putting into it. You can tell when you come in when he’s answering questions in the meeting room that he’s going home and he’s studying and stuff at night. That gives you a chance. So, when you hit the practice field, when you know what you’re doing and you’re confident, it allows you to play fast.

“We’re seeing that from him so far in training camp. He’s coming out here. He’s able to play fast. He’s able to make and know the checks. He’s playing some good football for us.”

Realistically, Ross doesn’t quite have the chance to make it to the Patriots’ 53-man roster, as they typically only carry five cornerback players and special teams ace Keion Crossen and 2018 second-round pick Duke Dawson are still vying for a sixth spot.

But if Ross continues shining in practice, and then carry it over into games, he could hit the radar of another team.

“Whatever reps I get, I just have to make sure I make the best of them,” Ross said Friday.

D’Angelo Ross still has another month to prove himself in training camp and the preseason, but he’s off to a hot start.