The 23-year-old safety out of Troy impressed his teammates with his aggression and intelligence, and now it’s his mission to stay put.
Sometimes, it’s the phone calls you don’t get that can change your life.
Patriots defensive back Dell Pettus experienced one of those moments last Tuesday when the team trimmed its roster to 53 players. The undrafted safety from Troy University made the team after entering training camp with long odds.
Pettus, 23, grinned as he spoke about fulfilling his dream of making an NFL team.
“I keep saying it, but it really means a lot to me,” he said. “It’s a blessing, a blessing from God. A lot of people wish they could be in this situation, being able to go to camp in the first place, and I appreciate it.
“I know it’s a big deal and something that I hold very close to my heart, something that I’ve wanted to achieve for a while. Now it’s time to let that go and start moving on for the next step and being the best football player I can be.”
Pettus, a 5-foot-11-inch, 200-pound safety, quickly made an impression with his aggression, intelligence, and coverage skills both in the secondary and on special teams. He had shown durability during his college career, starting 61 consecutive games. He also racked up 15 tackles in the Patriots’ three preseason games.
“You saw it early on, when he first got out there,” safety Jabrill Peppers said. “Fast, quick-twitch, brings the classroom to the field. He really doesn’t repeat the same mistakes over and over.
“He’s very coachable, he asks the right questions, and then on Sundays or whenever we played he went out there and put it all together. He made some good plays for us and showed some special teams value. So I think it was evident for him.”
The Patriots’ 19-year streak of having at least one undrafted rookie make the team — Malcolm Butler, David Andrews, and Brandon Bolden among them — was snapped last season.
Last week, coach Jerod Mayo said he wanted to resume the streak. Pettus showed enough in training camp for Mayo to make it happen.
“He’s done a fantastic job,” said Mayo. “There’s been a lot of conversation around him, but he’s done a fantastic job up until this point. But it is important that those guys go out here and realize, ‘I can play at this level.’
“There’s always this imposter syndrome where, ‘Am I good enough or am I not good enough?’ For a guy like Dell Pettus, for example, to go out and make those plays just continues to boost his confidence.”
Pettus said Kyle Dugger and Peppers have taken him under their wings and treated him like a brother since he arrived in New England.
“Dugger has been a great help because you get to see how he thinks and his preparation and stuff like that,” Pettus said. “Same thing with Pep; these guys are true pros and there’s a reason they’ve been in the league for a while.
“But, definitely with Pep, I think I looked at him a little more because I view him as more similar to me, like being viewed as undersized in a way, but definitely an aggressive, hard-hitting guy with a lot of passion for the game.”
Peppers said Pettus is fitting right in with the safety room. He has earned a spot in the building. Now the goal is to show enough consistency to stay there.
“Like I told him, he just got his foot in the door right now,” Peppers said. “It doesn’t mean he’s arrived. You’ve got to show them why they kept you and keep ascending and making plays to solidify yourself in this league.”
