FOXBORO — Just over two years ago, Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan sauntered into the Gillette Stadium weight room, where he encountered something he simply couldn’t unsee.
There was James Develin, the bearded fullback who had broken his leg a season earlier. His hood was up, wrapped tightly around the noise-canceling headphones that were blaring one of his go-to tracks — either heavy, heavy metal or late-1990s hip-hop — and he stared down a worn-out packet of smelling salts. And then Develin started to slap himself in the face, over and over again.
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And then Develin chased after the Patriots’ squat record.
“This dude,” recalled Hogan, who was in his first season with the Pats, “I was like, that’s not someone to mess with.”
It’s just one of the reasons the Patriots happily have Develin on their side. After following an unconventional route to Foxboro, Develin has become one of the best at his craft in a league that has soured on his position during the air-raid era. He even made Bill Belichick rethink his stance on the fullback after the Patriots didn’t employ a full-time blocking back for a few seasons. Develin’s consistent improvements led to his first Pro Bowl honor in 2017.
The 30-year-old’s rise can be traced directly to his favorite room in the building, a place where the well-mannered, easygoing, personable engineering alum from Brown University can become an unhinged, self-described meathead.
“That’s my second home,” Develin said. “I’ve always tended to gravitate toward lifting weight, and it’s just something I truly, truly enjoy. It’s a little bit of the meathead in me that I just let out in there. It’s just something I’ve always taken a huge point of pride in to get in there and try to move as much weight as I can, kind of like the old-school approach. There’s nothing fancy about the way I work out. It’s just something I’ve always enjoyed.
“Stuff in there, I don’t joke around with that stuff.”
It’s funny, almost in a head-turning way, to hear Develin refer to himself as a meathead, but that’s the side of his personality that has been rooted in his positional success. On the field, he is one of the few players in the NFL who wears a neck roll, while steamrolling linebackers with the ferocity of a Marvel character. And obviously, he slings around dumbbells like they’re Tootsie Rolls.
But Develin is far from a meathead in the stereotypical, caricature version of the word. He is as approachable as any player in the locker room and was well-respected for the way he acted as an extension of the coaching staff while breaking down film and opponents during his lost season in 2015. At home, he’ll shelve the extra hour of sleep for more time with his wife and sons, as the boys are big into playing superheroes and wrestling around. Develin is also a well-established face in the community, and he has been particularly generous with Bob’s Big Give, a local charity that donates holiday presents to the less fortunate.
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There’s a switch, though. It’s a distinction between Develin the dad and Develin the destroyer. One of those figurative lines is drawn at the curtain that separates the Patriots’ locker room from the weight room. At the moment, Develin holds both official Patriots weightlifting records for his positional group, and he’ll remain in pursuit of the overall marks until they crack or he retires.
He has been a big weight lifter since his sophomore year at Boyertown Area Senior High School in Pennsylvania, and that passion evolved when he began to work at a gym at the end of high school and into college.
“I’d spend more time at the gym than in my own home,” Develin said. “That’s what made me who I am today. Being here, I always pay my respects to what got me here.”
Develin even talks about the weight room like it’s a church. But for him, that’s what it takes.
Positionally, the 6-foot-3, 255-pound Develin has been slotted with the tight ends in the weight room. Three years ago, his 500-pound bench press broke Fred McCrary’s long-standing team record for the position. And this past offseason, Develin squatted 670 pounds to erase Ben Watson’s name from the record books.
Make no mistake, that’s a big deal. There’s always at least one strength coach or trainer in there to monitor the workouts, and word tends to travel fast throughout the locker room when a player is attempting to break a record. The crowd will fill up, and the energy in the room is contagious.
Then of course, sometimes they’ll see a guy go to town on the smelling salts before repeatedly punching themselves in the face.
“I’ll use anything to get my nervous system going a little bit,” Develin said with a smirk. “As much as it is physical in there, it’s mental, too. I try to get as much of a mental edge as I can.”
For a bit more perspective, given tight end Rob Gronkowski’s reputation and 6’6″ physique, it’s amazing the two aren’t even in the same stratosphere in the weight room. Gronk said his personal best is a 385-pound bench press and 450-pound squat.
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“He’s got everyone by a lot,” Gronkowski said.
It’s well past the point where Gronk would even consider making a run at Develin’s records.
“You can’t,” Gronk said. “He’s a beast. It’s what he does. Just don’t challenge him in that aspect.”
Develin still has the lofty goal of tracking down the overall records. Former tackle Sebastian Vollmer holds the franchise mark with a 525-pound bench press, which Develin has attempted. Right tackle Marcus Cannon’s squat record is somewhere north of 700 pounds, and that’s still a bit too ambitious for Develin to chase. Both of those players have several inches and about 80 pounds on Develin.
Develin has tried to bring others into his obsession. Every Memorial Day Weekend, Develin leads a fun competition for the players who remain in Foxboro. They’ll do the combine-style bench press, trying to rep as many 225-pound lifts as possible. Develin has never lost, and his personal best has been 49 reps, though he fell one shy of his goal. With the holiday theme in mind, he hoped to do one for all 50 states.
“It’s an everyday thing for him, seeing him in the weight room lifting crazy heavy weights,” running back James White said. “Sometimes you walk in there and you don’t really feel like lifting, but you see him in there giving it his all and it gives you some motivation. He works extremely hard every day.”
The results have been right there on the field for the world to see, and his teammates appreciate the hell out of him. Develin, who is one of just 23 fullbacks in the NFL, has enough highlights as a blocker that his teammates revel in the rewind button in the film room.
“Definitely,” White said, “he smacks some people.”
It can be a largely thankless job, and there really aren’t any metrics to fully measure a fullback’s performance. Develin does catch the occasional pass, including a four-reception explosion in Week 1 against the Texans, but he hasn’t taken a hand-off since 2014.
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He is essentially a road grader who is paid to go head to head with linebackers for the benefit of the team, and Develin possesses the selfless attitude to do just that.
“That’s the job description, just to go in there and be a battering ram and clear the way for these running backs,” Develin said. “I take a lot of pride in that. It’s so gratifying to me to be able to execute my job and do what it takes to open up a hole and to have a running back cut off my block. That’s what I’m working for. That’s what I’m living for. It’s those small things that maybe the general public doesn’t know on every given play, but that’s my job and I take pride in it.”
It’s a team-first way of life for Develin, one of the many reasons the Patriots are happy he’s on their side. And if they need a reminder, just keep an eye on the weight room, where he lays his path to an on-field demolition derby.
“He’s a different creature when it comes to that,” Gronkowski said. “He’s a beast. He can put up weights left and right no matter what it is. He’s just tossing it up and it’s special.”
INSIDE SLANT
Gronkowski looked stiff as he departed the training room Friday, and the apparent reason was disclosed later that day on the injury report. He had tweaked his back in some fashion. Saturday, it was learned Gronkowski also didn’t make the trip to Chicago.
For a bit more disclosure, it can be dangerous to describe a player’s movement in the locker room during the week. The reasons are always unclear, either through a harder-than-usual day at practice or the immediate aftermath of a session in the weight room or whatever. So that’s why I didn’t call it to attention prior to Friday’s injury report. The accumulation of factors is concerning, especially considering Gronkowski’s history, which includes three back surgeries.
For what it’s worth, Gronkowski was in a fairly decent mood Friday afternoon. Then again, you can probably count his bad days on one hand.
All good? Certainly not. Panic button? Not yet. But this will be something to monitor for a while at this point.
QUICK HITTERS
1. Wide receiver Julian Edelman’s heel issue appeared on the injury report this week, but he made the trip to Chicago, which means there’s a good chance he’ll play against the Bears.
2. Right tackle Marcus Cannon didn’t practice all week and won’t play Sunday due to a concussion. Not great, but there was a silver lining, if such a thing does exist in the case of a concussion. As recently as Wednesday, there was still an ounce of hope that Cannon might be cleared to play. Obviously, that wasn’t the case, but the optimism was noteworthy, at least in the sense that it’s not believed to lead to a long-term absence.
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3. Speaking of concussions and the selflessness it takes to play the fullback position, Develin was asked about just that: “I think as a player, you understand the risks that there are of playing football,” he said. “You know this is a physical game. At the fullback position, it’s kind of as physical as it gets except for linemen who are banging every play. Our coaches do a really good job of teaching us the right way to play and to keep our heads out of it. You try to stay on top of everything, no matter any type of injuries — ankle, knee, my leg, anything like that. You try to stay ahead of those things and try to get your body worked on as much as possible to put yourself into position to not have those setbacks.”
Is that any more of a concern with a young family?
“There is more responsibility on you when you have a family,” Develin said. “I’ve had the talk with my wife. Everybody understands the business I’m in, and football is a physical game. But my wife has all the trust in me that I’m going to put myself in the right position to not have any lingering effects from the game. I try to play the game as safe as possible. If you’re not too reckless, you can enjoy a nice career and everything will be fine.”
4. Center David Andrews had another quote about Develin that didn’t make it into the story.
“We definitely take him in as an offensive lineman, as an honorary guy,” Andrews said. “James is awesome. He is one of the hardest working guys on this football team. He’s my neighbor, a great teammate, a great guy. I’m very fortunate to be able to watch him and even learn from him for my four years here.”
5. I’m not going to share weekly travel stories because they’re usually corny, but this one was worth it. On my flight to Chicago, I sat next to a pair of cousins who said they were on a scavenger hunt to parts unknown. The younger cousin, who had just turned 30, woke up to a call that a limo was awaiting outside. The older cousin said his doorman called with his specific directions. They got to a bar and found each other, then ordered their directed drink, which was written on the directions. Upon ordering, the bartender gave them a phone number to another bar at Logan Airport, so that’s where they wound up. That’s also where they got their next direction card, which included a barcode for a flight to Chicago. Neither packed a bag. The younger cousin said he didn’t know who was even organizing the scavenger hunt or the final destination, and that he had to be back Monday for jury duty. Shortly after their arrival, the older cousin found me on Twitter and said he was the mole, and they’d be at the Pats-Bears game. That’s a great way to organize a trip.
(Top photo of Develin: Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)