Player
Jaylinn Hawkins
DB · Patriots
Jaylinn Hawkins: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
131 career tackles — 3rd among 5 six-season DBs from the 2020 Round 4 class.
Trend2020 R4 DBs — 6-season career tackles (regular season)
| Player | Tackles | PDs |
|---|---|---|
| K'Von Wallace | 106 | 8 |
| Darnay Holmes | 111 | 21 |
| Jaylinn Hawkins | 131 | 17 |
| Amik Robertson | 156 | 35 |
| L'Jarius Sneed | 238 | 43 |
Of the five DBs taken in Round 4 of 2020 who are still on rosters after six seasons, Hawkins sits 3rd in career tackles (131) and 3rd in career PDs (17). He trails Robertson and Sneed — both starters — while outpacing Wallace and Holmes. For a pick taken at No. 134, producing starter-adjacent numbers over a full six-year window is the baseline that keeps him employed.
44 tackles in 2025 regular season — a career high in his 6th season, at age 28.
MilestoneHawkins reset his career high in his 6th NFL season at age 28 — 44 regular-season tackles, 6 PDs, 1.5 sacks, 1 FF in 2025 for New England. The previous high was 41 tackles in his 2022 ATL season; he's now beaten that and matched his peak coverage output (6 PDs in both seasons). He then added 8 more tackles in the postseason (weeks 19–22) as NE advanced deep into the playoffs.
Two 6-PD seasons separated by 3 years — coverage role re-emerged in NE.
SplitPass-defense activity by season (regular season)
| Season | Team | PD | Tackles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ATL | 0 | 8 |
| 2021 | ATL | 3 | 12 |
| 2022 | ATL | 6 | 41 |
| 2023 | ATL/LAC | 1 | 6 |
| 2024 | NE | 1 | 20 |
| 2025 | NE | 6 | 44 |
His two best statistical seasons — 2022 (ATL) and 2025 (NE) — were both heavy coverage years with 6 PDs each. The years in between (2023, 2024) produced just 2 combined PDs as his role shifted. The 2025 resurgence came with a tackle total (44) that surpassed even his 2022 peak (41), suggesting NE deployed him as a full-time starter rather than a rotational piece.
2.9 tackles/game in 2025 — his per-game rate jumps nearly 2× when he's a starter.
RareHawkins per-game tackle rate by season (regular season)
| Season | Team | Tackles | Games | Per Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ATL | 8 | 5 | 1.60 |
| 2021 | ATL | 12 | 8 | 1.50 |
| 2022 | ATL | 41 | 15 | 2.73 |
| 2023 | ATL/LAC | 6 | 3 | 2.00 |
| 2024 | NE | 20 | 12 | 1.67 |
| 2025 | NE | 44 | 15 | 2.93 |
In the four seasons where Hawkins was a rotational or fringe DB (2020, 2021, 2023, 2024), his per-game tackle rate ranged from 1.50 to 2.00. In his two full starter seasons (2022 ATL and 2025 NE), that rate jumped to 2.73 and 2.93. The gap — nearly 1.3 tackles per game — shows the difference between a starting safety and a backup in the same body.
2023 mid-season ATL release — went from FT starter to 6 total tackles across two teams.
AnomalyAfter 41 tackles and 6 PDs in 2022, Hawkins's 2023 fell off a cliff: 2 tackles with Atlanta, then 4 with the Chargers after a mid-season pickup. Total: 6 tackles across the whole season. He then rebuilt with New England — 20 tackles in 2024 then 44 in 2025 — capping a two-year turnaround that went from fringe roster move to career-best output.
Hawkins leads Holmes and Wallace in career tackles — 131 vs 111 vs 106 among their R4 trio.
Comparison2020 R4 DB career totals through 2025 (regular season)
| Player | Career Tackles | Career PDs | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jaylinn Hawkins | 131 | 17 | 6 |
| Darnay Holmes | 111 | 21 | 6 |
| K'Von Wallace | 106 | 8 | 6 |
Among the three 2020 Round 4 DBs who played all 6 seasons without making a Pro Bowl, Hawkins leads in career tackles (131 vs 111 vs 106). Holmes counters with more PDs (21); Wallace trails in both categories. All three are still in the league on similar one-year contracts — the margin between them is small enough that a single breakout year (like Hawkins's 2025) reshuffles the pecking order.
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