Junior defensive back on North Carolina's 2026 roster.
6′1″ · 195 lb · Dacula, GA · Mill Creek
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
Recruiting
S recruit
No. 288 nationally · Signed with North Carolina
Last played in 2026.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Junior defensive back on North Carolina's 2026 roster.
Jaiden Patterson
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Three seasons at North Carolina, two different head coaches: Freddie Kitchens and Bill Belichick. The receipt on tape: 6 tackles against Clemson, Week 3, 2026.
11 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
His career
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Freddie Kitchens → Bill Belichick. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | North Carolina | 11 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | North Carolina | 33 | 22 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | North Carolina | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 46 | 31 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 1 | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 15-10@ TCU | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 2 | W 35-3vs East Tennessee State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | L 20-28@ Clemson | 6 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 6 tackles |
| Total | 11 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 15–10
at TCU
3 tackles · 1 pass breakups · 3 solo tackles
A wire-to-wire battle — won by 5 on the road.
With B. Edwards — 232 yds · 0 TD · 0 INT · QBR 77.2 · -4 rush yds (7 car) · A. Burrell — 41.7 yards per punt · 3 punts · 2 inside the 20
Since week 2: +6 tackles.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles for loss (16th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home1g | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Road2g | 4.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 3.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Bill Belichick
Pass share
46.9%
84 pass / 95 run
Plays / game
59.7
3 games
Team sack rate
6.5%
92 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2025
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Former four-star. Now #174 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-ACC
Based on 2025: #36 of 75 ACC DBs
15% estimated, 95% confidence interval 13–17%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
CFB Index positional classification
Player DNA
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Tao Johnson’s 2023 season.
Matches Tao on
Differs from Tao on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Kaiir Elam's sophomore season at Florida (2021).
Matches Kaiir on
Player DNA
2025 Sophomore Season Turned in a strong sophomore season Appeared in all 12 games, earning the start in six Made his first career start against Clemson Finished the season with 34 tackles, including 23 solo stops Recorded two tackles for loss Snagged his first career interception against…
16 more on the roster · North Carolina team page