Foxborough, MA – November 12, 2025 – In a league where specialization often reigns supreme, the New England Patriots are rewriting the playbook with a twist straight out of a Hollywood script: deploying their 335-pound defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga as a fullback on offense. The hulking BYU product, already a cornerstone of Mike Vrabel’s revamped defensive line, has morphed into the ultimate Swiss Army knife – a player who clogs run lanes by day and bulldozes them open by night.
Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs didn’t mince words when praising Tonga’s versatility after Tuesday’s practice. “Best two-way player in the league, if you ask me,” Diggs declared. “The guy does everything he’s asked of and he’s making plays – he’s taking out like eight people, including our own guys.” It’s high praise from a Super Bowl veteran, and it underscores Tonga’s meteoric rise from offseason pickup to multi-phase menace.
Tonga, a seventh-round draft steal out of BYU in 2021, entered the league as a journeyman, bouncing between five teams over his first five pro seasons. But in New England, he’s found a perfect fit under Vrabel – a coach who knows a thing or two about positional fluidity, having moonlighted as a red-zone receiving threat during his own playing days alongside Tom Brady. “That’s a guy that plays on three phases,” Vrabel said Tuesday, ticking off Tonga’s contributions with a grin. “Helped us win defensively, helped us win offensively, and then goes out there and stands in the way of three guys on the field-goal protection unit. So, anything that you can do to highlight those players like him, like Tonga, on our football team, I’m all in favor for.”
The stats might not scream superstar – 16 total tackles across 10 games – but Tonga’s impact is felt in the trenches. Pro Football Focus (PFF) crowned him New England’s highest-graded defender in Sunday’s gritty 28-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where his interior pressure forced two hurried throws from Baker Mayfield. Paired with stalwarts Christian Barmore and Milton Williams, Tonga has transformed the Patriots’ front into a brick wall, allowing just 3.8 yards per carry on the ground this season.
Yet it’s Tonga’s offensive cameos that have turned heads and sparked viral moments. Over the last three games, Vrabel’s staff has unleashed the big man in short-yardage and goal-line packages, where his explosive burst – honed by a surprising 5.1-second 40-yard dash at the 2021 NFL Combine – allows him to seal blocks with bone-crushing authority. The pinnacle came in the fourth quarter against the Bucs, with New England clinging to a slim lead and needing a spark. Enter Tonga: lining up as the lead blocker on a sweep to rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson.
What followed was pandemonium. Tonga exploded off the line, pancaking two Tampa defenders and creating a gaping lane that Henderson exploited for a 69-yard touchdown scamper – his second score of the day and the dagger that sealed the win. The sideline erupted, with quarterback Drake Maye later recounting the chaos on his weekly WEEI spot Monday: “We all get excited. We know somebody’s gonna get hit hard. He did it at BYU. He’s fun to be in the huddle with. We use him when we can. He’s doing a great job.”
The play, immortalized in a tweet from the Patriots’ official account, showed Henderson motoring untouched into the end zone, with Tonga’s handiwork visible in the wreckage left behind. “@TreVeyonH4 IS STILL RUNNING 📺 CBS,” the post read, accompanied by footage of the rookie’s breakaway. It’s the kind of creativity that’s kept New England’s offense unpredictable, blending old-school power with modern misdirection.
Embed X: https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/1987625591449813444
Vrabel, ever the tactician, hinted at the “vision” behind Tonga’s dual-role deployment. “You go through, you end up with a couple of names and then it’s process of elimination,” he explained. “So, I think it’s vision and then just watching the skill set, maybe how they play. It’s impressive – just on him real quick – just how quickly he gets out of his stance. He’s been able to get out in front of the running back. Sometimes fullbacks are a little slower, they’re out of phase with the runner and the runners run up their heels. So, you just try to look, be creative and see where guys can help you.”
For a Patriots team that’s leaned on grit and guile to climb to a 6-4 record – their best start since the Belichick-Brady era – Tonga embodies the “do-your-job” ethos that’s making Foxborough hum again. In a division stacked with firepower, his ability to flip the script on opponents could be the X-factor that propels New England deep into January.
As the AFC East showdown with the Bills looms on the horizon, one thing’s clear: Khyiris Tonga isn’t just a defensive juggernaut anymore. He’s New England’s secret weapon – 335 pounds of mayhem, ready to rumble on either side of the ball. And if Diggs is right, the rest of the league better take notice.