Patriots LB Excited To Build On Successful Season
New England Patriots linebacker Christian Elliss has gone through a number of coaching changes in recent years. Since arriving in New England via waivers in 2023, he's yet to have back-to-back seasons with the same head coach or defensive coordinator.
Now as he enters his third full season on the Patriots defense, the 27-year-old Elliss is pumped to build on last year's groundwork.
"Honestly, this is the first time in a long time where I've been in a system for two years in a row just because we had so many coaching changes and all that happened in the past," Elliss said after the team's community day this week. "So now going, building off of last year, that's all I'm focused on, is enhancing what we did. And now I'm not relearning a playbook. I'm not trying to learn a new scheme."
"It's Been Nothing But Beneficial"
Elliss still has some changes on the defensive side of the ball in title only. Zak Kuhr was officially promoted to defensive coordinator after he called the plays for all, but one game last season. But the head coach remains in place too.
This has helped Elliss not be forced to throw his past knowledge out the window, and allow him to hit the ground running.
"For me, it's been nothing but beneficial because I actually know everything that they're already installing," Elliss said. "The I can make tweaks or talk to them about how they see it, and it's a lot more comfortable."
With last year's success -- which saw Elliss record a career-high 94 tackles in a starting role -- there some the target on your back. No one thought the Patriots could make it as far as they did in 2025, and the veteran linebacker is using that as a gateway for offseason prep.
Super Bowl Aspirations Once Again In New England
"For me, personally, and I know a lot of the guys here ... it's nothing but a confidence builder going to the game we went to last year," Elliss said. "We knew we could get there. But obviously the rest of the country, was like, 'They aren't going to do it.' So for us, it's almost like it's us against the world type of thing. We all we got, we're all we need. So this year, especially, it's been really good after last year."
He mentioned that the returning players are excited to hit the ground running once again, but it hasn't come without significant developments at his position. Elliss played last season with Jahlani Tavai, Marte Mapu and Jack Gibbens, all of who won't be on the team in 2026.
To replace them, the Patriots signed KJ Britt to a one-year deal and drafted TCU's Namdi Obiazor in the sixth round. Elliss is already seeing them mesh from the get-go, and is excited to see where it takes the Patriots this season.
"Our new guys have been nothing but professional," Elliss said. "They fit right into our room. The guys, obviously, the guys that left, we miss them wholeheartedly. We had such an amazing room last year. We all became really close, and our wives became really close, and our families became really close. It was hard seeing some of them go.
"But the group we have this year, I'm so excited for. It's different in all shapes and forms, but I'm excited, and we're so happy to have the guys they brought in."
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/patriots/onsi as Patriots LB Excited To Build On Successful Season .
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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 11:08 AM.