Dre'Mont Jones has spent the last few seasons reimagining himself. After years anchoring the interior as a 280-plus-pound defensive tackle, he's shed roughly 15 pounds and moved to the edge as an outside linebacker. That's a legitimate positional evolution—the kind that requires not just film work and strength training, but total body recalibration. So what's his secret entering the 2026 season? Yoga and Pilates.
Before you roll your eyes: this actually makes sense. Jones isn't taking up hot yoga for Instagram content. He's being deliberate about maintenance and mobility as he operates at a new weight class against faster, more twitchy edge rushers. Pilates builds core stability and body awareness. Yoga improves flexibility and joint health—critical for a guy who's transitioning positions and needs to stay injury-free while playing a more explosive role. For a defensive lineman trying to prove he can stick on the edge at 265 pounds instead of anchoring at 280, these aren't luxury activities. They're infrastructure.
The Patriots defensive line room is crowded but not particularly settled. Milton Williams and Niko Lalos are here, but the edge rotation beyond them has been murky. If Jones can consistently execute at outside linebacker, that solves a real depth problem for Mike Vrabel's scheme. The yoga-and-Pilates approach signals he's serious about the transition sticking. It's not flashy. It's not the kind of thing that gets you drafted higher or signed to a bigger deal. But it's the kind of thing that determines whether a positional pivot actually works in the NFL.
We'll find out soon enough whether Jones can sustain this transformation. But the fact that he's being this thoughtful about recovery and body mechanics? That's a green flag. The NFL is full of talented players who don't do the unglamorous work. The ones who do—especially when reinventing themselves mid-career—tend to stick around.