The New England Patriots assigned their rookie draft class jersey numbers on Tuesday afternoon and as ESPN’s Mike Reiss pointed out, second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson will be wearing No. 32—the same digits as longtime captain Devin McCourty.
Aside from Tom Brady’s No. 12 jersey, which was retired last offseason at ceremony inside Gillette Stadium, New England has continued to keep some pretty prominent digits—a la Rob Gronkowski’s No. 87 and Julian Edelman’s No. 11—in rotation, so McCourty certainly shouldn’t feel slighted.
And clearly, he doesn’t. Less than an hour after the announcement, the three-time All-Pro defensive back quipped on X (formerly Twitter) with the perfect response:
“Can’t wait to see real speed in that 32 jersey,” he wrote.
Can’t wait to see real speed in that 32 jersey https://t.co/ICwRrSQmeZ
https://twitter.com/devinmccourty/status/1919792231273078848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1919792231273078848%7Ctwgr%5E68c017b827172bd98356c7f8fbcf5157cdcf5e1f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fnfl%2Fdevin-mccourty-patriots-jersey-number
While Henderson—a 4.43-second 40-yard dash running three-down back—is known for his explosiveness, the word “speed” was never prominent on McCourty’s scouting reports.
Instead, the cornerback-turned-safety was more of a center fielder in the defensive backfield, whose instinctual presence and leadership helped New England win three Super Bowls over the course of his 13-year career.
Who needs speed, anyway?
