Patriots Drafting Older CB Puts Current Depth Chart on Notice

With the 171st overall pick, the New England Patriots turned in the card for Wake Forest cornerback Karon Prunty. The older prospect -- who's set to turn 25 this season -- had a long college career with stops at Kansas and North Carolina A&T before finishing with the Demon Deacons.

Prunty came in for a pre-draft visit with the Patriots, and members of the front office were impressed with the meeting. He's a rangy player, and someone who could become a core piece of this secondary during his rookie contract. But questions surrounding his long career in college pushed him down draft boards.

Now in New England, he has a shot to jump some incumbent players currently on the roster ahead of him.

"We're Excited To Bring His Skill Set At The Perimeter"

"I never like to put too many expectations on a player being able to perform multiple roles or down the road stuff. But with Karon, he's a player that was really intriguing to us because of his length, his speed. He's an aggressive player," vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden told members of the media during the third day of the draft. "We're excited to bring his skill set at the perimeter corner and where it goes from there, I think that will just be once we get on the grass and start to make those. But I think ideally right now he's competing at the corner position."

Some players he'll begin to compete with for a spot on the active roster including a pair of younger cornerbacks. Charles Woods and Marcellas Dial, both entering their third seasons in the NFL, are players with special teams capabilities that could be clumped in with Prunty to start the summer.

Nov 7, 2020; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners running back Rhamondre Stevenson (29) scores a touchdown as Kansas Jayhawks cornerback Karon Prunty (9) defends during the first half at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Prunty spent time as a gunner and jammer during his time with Wake Forest, something he's not afraid of doing at the next level. Both Woods and Dial -- who's coming off a torn ACL suffered during last summer's training camp -- got most of their Patriots reps on special teams. Just because Prunty has experience on several special teams units doesn't make Woods and Dial expendable, but could potentially be a roadblock in their fight to make the 53-man roster in August.

As a cornerback, Prunty won't be one of the Patriots' top faces -- at least not in 2026. Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis and Marcus Jones have those top three spots locked up for now. Prunty will need to battle it out for a nickel/dime role, something that Woods found himself in after being claimed off of waivers ahead of Week 1

"He's a physical player. He challenges people. I think he plays with a confidence on the football field, which is paramount for the corner position," Cowden continued about Prunty. "I think there was a collaborative opinion between us and the coaching staff about a vision for the player. We speak about vision all the time, and here's one where we had a an aligned vision, and decided to take the player and try to make him part of our football team."

Last season, Woods was essentially New England's fourth cornerback and primary backup. In 15 games, he had 12 tackles, one pass breakup and played 171 snaps on special teams. Against the Buffalo Bills in December, he stepped up to play his most defensive snaps of the season (26).

Prunty's Spot On The Roster Could Be Impacted By Dial's Health

Jul 28, 2025; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Marcellas Dial Jr. (27) does a drill during training camp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

For Dial, his season was over before it began. He was drafted under former head coach Jerod Mayo in 2024 and was one of the team's core special teamers. He was a top gunner on the punt unit, but a training camp ACL tear forced him on season-ending injured reserve from the get go.

Both players will be back in 2026, and Dial is on track to return in full health, but Prunty -- a confident player -- could make it difficult for them.

"I feel like as a corner, you've got to be productive," Prunty told reporters after being drafted. "I feel I put myself in the right position to make plays. Just watching film, reading formations, knowing route recognitions, things like that. Played college for five years, so I'm very aware of what's going on around me and everything like that. My stats don't lie."

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