Tavon Wilson

He was ranked the ninth best free safety prospect in the draft and was ranked the 24th best safety in the draft by ESPN Scouts inc.

Tavon Wilson (born March 19, 1990) is a former American football safety.

In 2011, he was named the team's outstanding defensive back at the annual postseason banquet.

Wilson did not receive an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine.

He was invited to the Super Regional Combine in Detroit, Michigan, but declined the invitation.

He played college football at the University of Illinois, and was drafted by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

With the Patriots, Wilson won Super Bowl XLIX, and he has also played for the Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts.

Wilson started the last 38 games of his collegiate career, spanning his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons.

On March 30, 2012, he participated at Illinois' pro day and performed all of the combine and positional drills.

During the draft process, Wilson attended private visits with multiple teams, including the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans, Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, and San Diego Chargers.

At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Wilson was projected to be a sixth or seventh round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts.

The New England Patriots selected Wilson in the second round (48th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Wilson was the third safety drafted in 2012, behind Mark Barron and Harrison Smith.

The Patriots' selection of Wilson was immediately met with criticism as he was a virtually unknown prospect.

Many analysts questioned the selection and labeled it a reach by head coach Bill Belichick.

NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper did not have any notes on Wilson due to low draft status.

On May 12, 2012, the New England Patriots signed Wilson to a fully guaranteed four-year, $4.21 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $1.50 million.

Throughout training camp, he competed for a job as a backup safety against James Ihedigbo, Nate Ebner, Josh Barrett, and Sergio Brown.

Head coach Bill Belichick named Wilson the backup free safety to begin the regular season, behind Steve Gregory.

He made his professional regular season debut in the New England Patriots' season-opener at the Tennessee Titans and recorded four combined tackles, two pass deflections, and made his first career interception off a pass by Jake Locker in their 34–13 victory.

Wilson made his first career tackle on Chris Johnson in the second quarter.

On October 7, 2012, Wilson earned his first career start in place of Steve Gregory who sustained a hip injury.

He collected a season-high ten combined tackles (five solo) during their 31–21 victory against the Denver Broncos in Week 5.

In Week 8, he recorded three combined tackles, a pass deflection, and returned an interception by Case Keenum for a 45-yard gain during a 45–7 victory against the St. Louis Rams at Wembley Stadium.

He finished his rookie season with 41 total tackles (28 solo), six pass deflections, and four interceptions in 16 games and four starts.

Wilson played in 464 snaps on defense (42.3%) and played 238 snaps on special teams (48.7%).

The New England Patriots finished first in the AFC East division with a 12–4 record and received a first round bye and home-field advantage.

On January 13, 2013, Wilson appeared in his first career playoff game and made three combined tackles in the Patriots' 41–28 victory against the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional Round.

The following week, the Patriots were eliminated after being defeated by the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game.

During training camp, Wilson competed to be the starting strong safety against Adrian Wilson, Steve Gregory, Duron Harmon, and Marquice Cole.

He was named the backup free safety, behind Devin McCourty, to begin the regular season.

Wilson was inactive for three games (Weeks 5–7) due to an injury he sustained to his hamstring.

In Week 11, he collected a season-high two solo tackles in the Patriots' 24-20 loss at the Carolina Panthers.

On December 22, 2013, Wilson made one solo tackle and returned an interception by Tyrod Taylor for a 74-yard touchdown during a 41-7 victory at the Baltimore Ravens in Week 16.

Throughout the season, he was used primarily on special teams and was limited to three solo tackles, an interception, and a touchdown in 13 games and zero starts.

Wilson saw a sharp decrease in his playing time on defense and was limited to only 17 snaps on defense (1.4%), but played 253 snaps on special teams (54.7%).

Wilson entered camp as a candidate to replace Steve Gregory at strong safety.

Wilson competed for the job against Patrick Chung and Duron Harmon.

He was named the backup free safety to Devin McCourty to start the season.

In Week 17, Wilson collected a season-high five combined tackles during a 17–9 loss to the Buffalo Bills.