Patriots’ Marte Mapu Changes Position From Safety to Linebacker

originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The New England Patriots' defense has been the team's identity for multiple years, and this year, new head coach Mike Vrabel doubled down on that. He made numerous additions through free agency and the draft to add valuable assets and depth to this already strong defense. One of the positions that really got beefed up is the safety room, which was already a strong point of the Patriots' defense.

New England is returning their two starters from last year, Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger, who will most likely start again this season, barring any injuries. They also made two new additions to the safety room, signing 29-year-old Marcus Epps and drafting…