A reminder of how good Ja'Whaun Bentley was last season

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - We only got to see three regular season games with him on the field in 2018, but during that span, linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley was impressive. Here's your reminder of what the former 5th-round draft pick was able to accomplish before a torn bicep ended his season.

Purdue product Ja'Whaun Bentley turns an Adrian Clayborn strip-sack into a 54-yard runback for six. pic.twitter.com/poPjWLKXKo
— Oliver Thomas (@OliverBThomas) August 17, 2018

Bentley started off in training camp last season on the bottom of the depth chart and quickly moved his way up, to the point where he was starting at middle linebacker and wearing the green dot for New England in their Week 1 preseason game against Washington.

In Weeks 1-3 of the regular season when the Patriots played the Texans, Jaguars, and Lions, Bentley was one of the league's best coverage linebackers. According to Pro Football Focus, Bentley was targeted five times in coverage and only gave up three catches for 19 yards, to go along with one interception. His 84.5 coverage grade was the 6th best out of all linebackers in the league (minimum of 45 coverage snaps). His 28.3 passer rating allowed was no. 1 amongst LBs in 2018.

Bentley's sideline-to-sideline speed is unmatched by any other inside linebacker on the roster and can be extremely effective when chasing down running backs out of the backfield. He's young, athletic, and intelligent, which is why Bill Belichick was so willing to give him extra responsibility last season compared to other rookies on the roster.

If you forgot about Bentley, it's okay. It's a long season, so what happens in September is often forgotten about even by the most passionate of spectators. But Bentley is back and ready to take over the starting duties once more at inside linebacker in 2019. So don't be surprised when he shines again.

Add us as a preferred source on Google