It was a long summer for Marte Mapu. The 2023 third-rounder was poised to build on a rookie season that saw him dress for every game while getting his feet wet with 204 defensive snaps and 217 special teams snaps.
But then, just one practice into training camp, Mapu suffered a calf injury that would eventually land him on Injured Reserve and cost him the first four games of the season.
For the rest of the summer, Mapu was a fixture as an observer of the defense during practices. Often he'd be standing in back on the defense, listening to the calls and making adjustments to himself while the rest of his teammates got the real work on the field. It was hard not to feel for the frustrated Mapu, who did his best to stay sharp despite the injury.
Known as a true student of the game who loves spending time in the film room, Mapu made the most of what he could do while he was hurt.
"One thing that I've been able to learn is kind of how other people do their job," said Mapu last week. "So how I play the post or how I play in the box might not be the same as the other safeties and I've been able to learn what makes them excel at doing it, because now I'm not looking at just me."
Last week, Mapu returned to practice and it couldn't have come at a better time. Starting safeties Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers both landed on the injury report, opening up a major need for contributions from the rest of the group, including Jaylinn Hawkins and Dell Pettus.
No one knew quite what to expect from Mapu. Could a player miss nearly all of training camp and jump right back into the mix with just four practices under his belt?
Just before game time, Jerod Mayo gave the answer during his pre-game radio hit on the Sports Hub.
"Marte [Mapu] is ready to go," said Mayo. "Hopefully he can go the whole game."
Go the whole game Mapu did, playing all 78 defensive snaps and chipping in 15 more on special teams. In just one game, Mapu played nearly half the snaps that he played in the entirety of his rookie season and gave observers of the Patriots defense newfound reasons for optimism that the second-year player might finally make the impact that everyone hoped he could.
"It was very encouraging," said Mayo of the safety group's performance overall. "Those guys grew up yesterday. I liked the way they played, and hopefully here, going forward, they continue to develop at that pace. You know, Dugger's injury, and you know what [Peppers] is going through right now, we're going to need guys to step up. And I thought they did that yesterday. It wasn't perfect, but I thought they played hard. I thought they did what we asked them to do and something to build off of."
Perhaps most encouraging was how easily Mapu fit into the defense in an intriguingly versatile role. Not only that but he was also spotted calling the defense while receiving sideline communication. Only one player can wear the green dot on defense, and suddenly there was Mapu, fresh off of injured reserve with just three practices logged, making the calls and getting guys lined up.
It was unexpected and encouraging, as Mapu logged six tackles, was credited for a forced fumble and held up in coverage, allowing four catches on six targets for 36 yards.
On early downs, he played a lot in base defense as a linebacker, before shifting back to a safety spot on later downs and in passing situations. Just like that, all the potential Mapu possessed when he was drafted seemed to come together.
He looked like a new player, aided by a number switch from 30 as a rookie to 15, which also has a number five connection to when Junior Seau, whom Mapu considers an uncle, wore 55 for the Patriots.
"He was always coming in and watching [film]," Sacramento State head coach Andy Thompson told Patriots.com in 2023, who also served as Mapu's defensive coordinator dating back to 2019. "He's always asking questions, 'Why are we doing this? What is your thought process?'... and I was a defensive play caller so he went through a lot of different scenarios with me, he just loves football. And he likes to talk about it and he was always been interested and curious and it really helped him his last two years, especially developing into the player that he was because he did so much film study."
Now, in the NFL, that continued passion for study and asking the right questions helped Mapu suddenly emerge out of nowhere as a potential key piece of the Patriots defense moving forward who can do a little of everything, while providing a new level of athleticism on the second level.
"He's a smart player...this dude is like a coach in the classroom, the way he prepares and the questions he asks," said DeMarcus Covington last week. "So his questions, high-level questions, you know he's thinking about the stuff in the playbook, even though he's not, you know, technically able to play the first four weeks. And he's been like that since I had him at the Senior Bowl."
The Patriots defense has faced an onslaught of injuries and issues through the first five games, but Mapu was a silver lining in the loss to Miami and one that will have the opportunity to continue playing a major role going forward.
If he played that much and that well with limited practice, the sky's the limit as he stacks more and more experience.
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