Fair to say that, through the first four years of his NFL career, Patriots edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson came up far short of the first-round draft pick billing he received coming out of LSU in 2021, when Jacksonville used the No. 20 overall pick on him. Chaisson lost his starting role after Year 2 with the Jaguars, and it was not until late last season, after he moved to the Raiders, that he began showing some promise.
His mission this summer, after signing with the Patriots on a one-year, $3 million contract, was to keep the progress rolling–because if he didn’t, his NFL career was just about ready to dry up.
At the outset of training camp, Chaisson said, “That’s the goal, obviously, to keep making progress and obviously keep taking steps forward. So I’m going to keep doing everything I can, the best as I can to keep taking them steps forward and obviously make the team better.”
K’Lavon Chaisson Wins AFC Player of the Week for Week 7 Win
He has done that, and on Sunday, he had his best game as a Patriot and arguably his best game in the NFL. Chaisson notched two sacks in Sunday’s 27-10 win over the Titans, and spooked Cam Ward into a fumble that Chaisson converted into a touchdown.
For his efforts, Chaisson was awarded the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week Award for the first time in his career.
The Patriots wrote on their Twitter/X account: “@Patriots LB K’Lavon Chaisson has been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his Week 7 performance, recording 2 sacks and a fumble recovered for a TD. This is his first-career POTW award and the team’s first on defense since 2022.”
K’Lavon Chaisson Improving for Patriots
On the grading system given by Pro Football Focus, Chaisson’s increasing comfort with the Patriots defense has been obvious. He struggled in the opener, and posted just a 53.0 grade in the team’s Week 2 win over Miami. Since then, he has gotten a better grade each week–57.0 in Week 3 and 62.7 in Week 4 against Carolina. Chaisson missed the Buffalo game with an injury.
But he posted a 67.7 grade in Week 6, and a season-high 75.1 grade in Week 7, earning the DPOW honors.
Patriots’ Vrabel: ‘He Showed Up Ready to Learn’
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said the sacks (he now has 4.5) and the touchdown have been nice, but he has seen Chaisson work for the better of the team in all phases, even on special teams.
“I mean, he showed up in the offseason ready to learn, work and earn a role, and he’s done that,” Vrabel said. “I would say that he’s an important member of the punt team. Something that he’s taken very seriously since he got here, trying to do those things and help us on the punt team, and then taking advantage of his opportunities.”
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