Matthew Judon Believes Josh Uche Is Earning The Title Of ‘Best Pass-Rusher’ On The New England Patriots

Josh Uche waited his turn.

Through two regular seasons with the New England Patriots, the outside linebacker from the University of Michigan had four sacks on his NFL résumé. And his first of 2022 did not arrive until Oct. 30 after he had been inactive for consecutive weeks due to a hamstring injury.

They’ve begun to add up since then. They did Monday night at State Farm Stadium.

Colt McCoy stepped on as Arizona Cardinals starter Kyler Murray was carted off with a non-contact ACL injury three downs in. The veteran backup quarterback was soon sacked six times by New England. No. 55 had a hand in three of them while bulling, bending and bursting his way around the edges. He delivered a hit that became an interception for all-purpose rookie cornerback Marcus Jones, too, in the 27-13 road win.

Uche now stands with ten sacks on the year — and a pair of games with three after previously checking that box on Dec. 1 against the Buffalo Bills. His latest were checked on first-and-10, third-and-7 and fourth-an-13.

But the tally hasn’t surfaced as a surprise to a perennial Pro Bowl teammate who is currently tied for the NFL lead in that category.

“I told y’all I wasn’t the best pass-rusher,” Matthew Judon told reporters during his postgame press conference as New England moved to a 7-6 record and back into the AFC playoff picture. “Our best pass-rusher is emerging, and people are going to have to block him. If they don’t and they chip my side and they worry about me, Uche will do that every week.”

Selected in the second round of the 2020 draft at No. 60 overall, Uche qualified for the top spot among rookie edge defenders in Pro Football Focus’ pass-rush productivity. He did so despite beginning and ending that sample size on injured reserve. But in 2021, the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Wolverines product began the season with three sacks in two games and ended it without another.

It’s been a different story and a different role despite not starting a game this campaign. At age 24, Uche has played a larger part while playing just under 30% of the defensive snaps.

He played a season-high 64% of the snaps in Glendale.

“I’ve learned a lot,” Uche told reporters Monday evening. “I’ve been through a lot of adversity and just leaning back on my faith, my family, my teammates, my girl, my parents — everybody. Just leaning back on them and them helping me stay up. Judon, he’s just been a blessing in my life, man. That’s big bro. I don’t know where I’d be without him and the rest of the guys.”

In tandem with Judon’s 14.5 sacks, the New England has two players with double-digit sacks for the fourth time in franchise history. That was previously achieved in 1977, 1985 and 2011.

But the most sacks the Patriots have had during Bill Belichick’s tenure as head coach stands at 49. And with 45 sacks and four quarterbacks left on the schedule, the only defenses around the league standing ahead are the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.

“I just love the way he’s playing with confidence and poise, and it’s the most he’s been able to play since he’s been in the NFL,” said Judon, whose recent contract restructure created $2.214 million in cap space for the organization. “And so, it’s taken a toll on him, but he’s going out there and he’s having a lot of success. We all knew it. We all knew what type of player he was. He was drafted pretty high here and now he’s emerging and folks are going to have to watch out.”

Uche’s $1.099 million base salary will increase to $1.344 million in 2023 — the final year of his rookie deal.