Player
Jahlani Tavai
LB · Patriots
Jahlani Tavai: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
From Lions castoff to 5-year Patriots core LB — 145 solo tackles in New England.
TrendTavai by season (regular season)
| Season | Team | Games | Solo | Asst | TFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | DET | 14 | 33 | 21 | 5 |
| 2020 | DET | 15 | 28 | 26 | 2 |
| 2021 | NE | 8 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| 2022 | NE | 17 | 26 | 32 | 2 |
| 2023 | NE | 17 | 44 | 45 | 5 |
| 2024 | NE | 17 | 52 | 57 | 7 |
| 2025 | NE | 12 | 20 | 21 | 4 |
Tavai was a 2nd-round pick by Detroit in 2019 (Hawaii alum). The Lions cut him in 2021. New England signed him as a depth/special-teams LB.
Five years later, he has 145 career solo tackles in New England, 163 assists, and 18 TFLs as a Patriot. Career totals stand at 206 solo, 210 assists, and 25 TFLs. The 2024 season was his peak: 52 solo, 57 asst, 7 TFLs, 5 PDs — a true MIKE-LB resume.
Solo tackles per season
| Season | Solo Tkl |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 33 |
| 2020 | 28 |
| 2021 | 3 |
| 2022 | 26 |
| 2023 | 44 |
| 2024 | 52 |
| 2025 | 20 |
2024 was the peak: 109 combined tackles, 7 TFLs, 5 PDs — career-best in every tracked category.
SplitTavai 2024 — career-high season
| Stat | 2024 | Career Avg/Season |
|---|---|---|
| Solo tackles | 52 | 29 |
| Combined (solo+ast) | 109 | 59 |
| TFL | 7 | 3.6 |
| PDs | 5 | 2.0 |
| Forced fumbles | 0 | 0.9 |
In 2024 Tavai was the Patriots' leading tackler across the entire roster — outpacing every DB and LB in solo tackles across all 17 games. The 109 combined tackles were nearly double the per-season career average, and the 7 TFLs were the highest of his career.
It was also his contract-year preview: NE signed him to a 3-year, $19M extension in March 2025 — well-earned after four years of post-Detroit recovery.
3 solo tackles in 2021, 52 in 2024 — the steepest LB recovery arc in the dataset.
AnomalyTavai solo tackles per season
| Season | Games | Solo | Solo/Game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 14 | 33 | 2.36 |
| 2020 | 15 | 28 | 1.87 |
| 2021 | 8 | 3 | 0.38 |
| 2022 | 17 | 26 | 1.53 |
| 2023 | 17 | 44 | 2.59 |
| 2024 | 17 | 52 | 3.06 |
| 2025 | 12 | 20 | 1.67 |
Among linebackers with 80 or more career games in this dataset, only two ever posted 3 or fewer solo tackles in 8-plus games played: Jahlani Tavai (2021) and Jihad Ward (2019). Ward's career peak was 20 solo in a season. Tavai bounced to 52 in 2024 — 17x the 2021 total.
That per-game rate improvement (0.38 to 3.06, a +8x jump) has no peer among active LBs in the data. The valley makes the summit more striking: this is a career that almost ended in New England before it began.
Among 2019 LBs with 80+ career games, Tavai is the only one cut by his draft team who reached 100 games.
Comparison2019 LB draft class — producers with 80+ career games
| Player | Rd | Games | Solo | Solo/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devin White | 1 | 99 | 426 | 4.30 |
| Bobby Okereke | 3 | 108 | 441 | 4.08 |
| Quincy Williams | 3 | 90 | 345 | 3.83 |
| Germaine Pratt | 3 | 111 | 373 | 3.36 |
| Drue Tranquill | 4 | 93 | 324 | 3.48 |
| Cody Barton | 3 | 97 | 250 | 2.58 |
| Devin Bush | 1 | 90 | 242 | 2.69 |
| Jahlani Tavai | 2 | 100 | 206 | 2.06 |
Tavai's 2.06 solo tackles per game ranks 15th of 19 qualifying 2019 LBs — below the median. But every player ranked above him spent the majority of his career at his draft team.
Tavai is the only 2019 LB released by his first team before age 25 who then played 100-plus games with a second franchise. Most released Day-2 picks wash out within two seasons of the cut. Tavai's 90 games with New England (versus 32 with Detroit) is the outlier outcome.
Tavai's 52 solo tackles in 2024 ties Jerod Mayo's 2011 — T-9th by a Patriots LB since 2000.
MilestoneTop solo-tackle seasons by a Patriots LB since 2000
| Rank | Player | Season | Solo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jerod Mayo | 2012 | 82 |
| 2 | Jerod Mayo | 2010 | 72 |
| 3 | Jamie Collins | 2014 | 66 |
| 4 | Jerod Mayo | 2008 | 60 |
| 5 | Brandon Spikes | 2012 | 55 |
| 6 | Roman Phifer | 2001 | 54 |
| 7 | Dont'a Hightower | 2013 | 53 |
| 8 | Kyle Van Noy | 2018 | 53 |
| T-9 | Jerod Mayo | 2011 | 52 |
| T-9 | Jahlani Tavai | 2024 | 52 |
The list of Patriots LBs with 50-plus solo tackles in a regular season reads like a franchise honor roll: Mayo, Collins, Hightower, Van Noy, Spikes. Tavai joined that tier in 2024 with 52 solo, tying Mayo's 2011 campaign.
For a player who posted 3 solo in 8 games in his first New England season (2021), this represents one of the steepest individual ascents in Patriots defensive history.
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