Super Bowl LII wrapped up Sunday night with the Philadelphia Eagles defeating the New England Patriots, 41-33.
A stockpile of SEC talent was scattered across the two rosters, including two Auburn alums, Brandon King and Jonathan Jones. Both King and Jones were undrafted free agents, with King signing with the Patriots in 2015 and Jones in 2016.
King transferred from Highland Community College to Auburn in 2013. He began his career as a backup safety behind Robenson Therezie and would even see time at linebacker and defensive end.
King never started a game at Auburn, but his positional versatility would eventually catch the eye of the Patriots organization and that gave him the opportunity to play in the NFL.
Brandon King (29) - File Photo
King would immediately make an impact on special teams, recording 15 tackles and a forced fumble in 15 games in his rookie season. In 2016, King led the Patriots in special team tackles and won his first Super Bowl after defeating the Falcons, 34-28.
2017 would bring King his second straight Super Bowl appearance, in which he played in 15 games and recorded a safety, when he tackled the Chargers' Travis Benjamin in the end zone on a punt return.
Jones’ story goes a little different, with him seeing action at Auburn in all four seasons on The Plains. Jones would make his mark as one of the better defensive backs in Auburn history when he recorded six interceptions in 2014, which was fifth-most in a season for Auburn.
Jones would enter the NFL draft after the 2015 season but would go undrafted. Similar to King, Jones was picked up by the Patriots as a free agent.
Eager to prove himself, Jones played in all 16 regular-season games with one start in a nickel defense. Utilized mainly on special teams, he registered six tackles, one pass defended, eight special teams tackles, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery on special teams.
His proven play made an enough of an impact to play in all three playoff games. Jones led the team with three special teams tackles in the AFC Championship game vs. Pittsburgh, and he played as a reserve in Super Bowl LI vs. Atlanta and made a key tackle on a late-game kickoff that forced the Falcons to start a drive at their own 10-yard line.
Jonathan Jones (3) - File Photo
Jones’ second season would bring the former more chances to prove himself when he saw significant time at defensive back in the nickel defense and made his first start of the season at defensive back and helped contribute with five tackles and a pass defended. Jones’ also caught a game-clinching interception against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Both King and Jones’ contributions on special teams has the Patriots as one of the top-tier special teams groups in the NFL.
“We have a lot of talent in our special-teams corps,” Patriots punter Ryan Allen said in an quote gathered from AL.com. “Matthew Slater, Jonathan Jones…Brandon King, Brandon Bolden, all these guys. Not only do they have size, but they have speed, and they care about what their jobs are on special teams.”
King will be listed as a 2018 restricted free agent after the Super Bowl on Sunday, and Jones signed a 3-year, $1.63 million contract in 2016 that will leave him as a restricted free agent in 2019.
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