Jakob Johnson's fortunate rise to Patriots' active roster in Week 3 is a remarkable journey

Bill Belichick spoke about Jakob's incredible rise from an unknown in the International Pathway Program to a starter last Sunday for the Patriots.

The International Pathway Program (IPP) is a program the NFL began running in 2017. Its sole purpose - to increase the amount of non-Americans in the league, which in hand would help increase the NFL's popularity internationally. 

The program hasn't had a strong track record for talent. Only one of the 19 players who have made an initial NFL roster from the IPP has been activated to a 53-man roster since the program's birth. Luckily for the New England Patriots, they took their first stab at the IPP in 2019, and decided to select Jakob Johnson from Stuggart, Germany, who became that one player. 

Johnson played his college ball at the University of Tennessee, where he started off as a linebacker before switching to tight end. He battled hard enough throughout this summer to earn a spot on the Patriots practice squad, where he was expected to spend quite a bit of time since the team only carried one fullback - James Develin. However, when Develin was ruled out because of a neck injury prior to New England's Week 3 game against the New York Jets, Johnson was activated to the 53-man roster, making him the first ever IPP player to make an active NFL roster. 

Though he only managed two snaps on offense in the game, both which were the kneel downs to end the game, along with six snaps on special teams, Johnson's presence on the game day roster spoke leaps and bounds to the journey he has made. His presence was very special, especially when Bill Belichick spoke about Johnson and the role the IPP played in finding a player like him during a conference call on Monday with the media. 

"No, he was not on our radar," Belichick said via ESPN's Mike Reiss when asked if Johnson would have been on the team's radar had it not been for the IPP. "I don't think we would have ever signed him. When the players were kind of listed, there were a group of players that fell into this category and we looked at that group and it was kind of like 'Is there anybody here you want?' So based on some research and follow-up at Tennessee, and really Butch (Jones) recommended him to me; we didn't really know much about the other guys. I can't say we were excited to have him, but based on what Butch said, felt like he was a good player to work with, would work hard, would really try to get better, was a good teammate, and all those things he had shown at Tennessee.

"Back in the spring, I don't anybody ever envisioned him being on the roster at that point, or even being on the practice squad, to tell you the truth. But he continued to get better and his physicality and toughness showed up in the preseason games, and in the preseason practices against Detroit and Tennessee. He steadily worked his way into a backup fullback role and was activated for the game yesterday. I wouldn't say it was quite a Steve Neal rise but somewhere in that neighborhood. What he's done has been remarkable  and in a relatively short period of time."

Aside from a rambling Belichick, which isn't something we get too often when referencing an active player on his roster, the things New England's head coach had to say about Johnson speak loudly enough about his journey to the NFL. 

The Patriots took a shot at a player that no one, including themselves, knew about prior to them receiving knowledge of the players eligible in the IPP. On top of that, they brought him in and played him at fullback, a position that has been on the downtrend for several years in the league because of pass-friendly offenses becoming more popular. 

Johnson surpassed every massive obstacle that could have gotten in his way to being an NFL player, which made it all more incredible to see him take the field in a Patriots uniform this past Sunday. Though he won't see any time on the active roster going forward if Develin is healthy, the mere fact that he is a part of the Patriots organization is a miracle in itself.