The New England Patriots have a unique way of assigning uniform numbers to rookies that create some odd visuals during spring practices and training camp. 

The Patriots give out numbers in the 50s and 60s and assign them by draft position. So, first pick Christian Gonzalez will wear No. 50 until New England’s first preseason game despite the fact that he’s a cornerback, second pick Keion White will wear No. 51 and so on. It didn’t look unnatural to see third pick Marte Mapu, officially listed as a linebacker, wearing a red non-contact No. 52 during the first organized team activities practice open to the media. No. 52 is a linebacker’s number, and Mapu was playing in the box in the middle of the field.

It looked a little more strange in the Patriots’ second and third open practices because he was playing Devin McCourty’s old position of free safety in a rotation with other defensive backs.

Mapu, at 6-foot-3, 216 pounds, would be extremely undersized for an NFL linebacker, but the Patriots use other safeties, like 6-foot-2, 220-pound Kyle Dugger, 5-foot-11, 210-pound Adrian Phillips and 5-foot-11, 215-pound Jabrill Peppers, in a hybrid-linebacker role. Dugger called the safety and linebacker positions somewhat interchangeable last week.

Mapu played linebacker at the Senior Bowl practices and game, so it wasn’t unusual to hear him announced as a linebacker at the 2023 NFL Draft despite the fact that he played much more defensive back at Sacramento State.

Here’s how his snaps broke down in 2022, per PFF:

Defensive line: 49 snaps
Box: 249 snaps
Slot corner: 510 snaps
Wide corner: 3 snaps
Free safety: 56 snaps

They were roughly the same in 2021:

Defensive line: 28 snaps
Box: 160 snaps
Slot corner: 416 snaps
Wide corner: 4 snaps
Free safety: 57 snaps

Phillips, an NFL veteran, has been impressed with how Mapu has moved around in practices:

“I think it kind of goes into the evolution of the game,” Phillips said Friday. “Just having guys being able to play multiple positions and growing up playing multiple positions like in high school, college, things like that.

“Seeing him out there on the field, it all looks comfortable for him. It looks like things that he’s seen before. He’s working hard and he’s just worrying about getting better every day.”

Mapu intercepted a pass and broke up another target in Friday’s session as the day’s biggest practice standout. So, the early returns on Mapu have been good. But among Patriots defenders entering spring practices on the 90-man roster, Mapu would have been pretty low on the list of candidates expected to fill in McCourty’s old role. Phillips has the most experience, Dugger has the most speed, and Peppers, Jalen Mills, Jonathan Jones and Myles Bryant have played the position before.

A reminder: Mapu is listed as a linebacker on the Patriots’ official roster.

But it seems like the Patriots will continue to rotate different players into the role until they find the right fit, and Mapu — as well as Peppers, Mills, Phillips and Dugger — is been included in that group. The most likely scenario is that New England mixes in more looks with two high safeties to take the pressure off of one player.

The Patriots also have been known to experiment with a young player in one position before eventually moving him. Patriots outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings started out as a box linebacker, Patrick Chung as a free safety and even McCourty was drafted as a cornerback and played there for two-plus seasons before moving to safety.

Regardless of where Mapu plays this season, he’s already looking good in spring practices. He’s known for his physical nature of play, so things could get even better when the pads come on in training camp.

Featured image via Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports