It took Anfernee Jennings a while to find his footing in the NFL. The former third-round pick battled injuries early in his career and served primarily as a backup once he finally got on the field.

That wasn’t expected to change this season, but injuries to other key players thrust him into the spotlight and the 26-year-old linebacker has proven up for the task.

Now in his fourth season, Jennings’ emergence has been a notable bright spot amid what has otherwise been a disappointing season. Jennings currently leads the team with eight tackles for a loss along with 46 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery, and he’s also played a key role in helping the Patriots run defense allow just 3.2 yards per attempt, by far the best mark in the league.

“He’s done a hell of a job answering the bell,” said defensive line coach Demarcus Covington. “Every week he gets better, he does a really good job and he’s part of the reason why our run defense has been so successful this year.”

After sitting out the first two games as a healthy scratch, Jennings made his season debut in Week 3 and steadily saw his playing time increase. Jennings has now played at least 64% of New England’s defensive snaps every game since Week 5, and even as other stalwarts like Josh Uche and Keion White have returned from their own injuries, Jennings has remained a fixture on the defensive unit.

“Obviously the season isn’t going as well as we wanted it to go, but definitely being out there more and getting more of an opportunity, I’m getting more comfortable each and every week,” Jennings said.

Jennings said getting to learn from veterans like Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy early in his career helped teach him a lot of important lessons, and now he’s embraced being the front-seven’s jack of all trades. The linebacker now primarily meets with Covington’s defensive line unit and tries to be someone who can do a little bit of everything.

“I’ve always prided myself on being able to stop the run and being able to get after the quarterback,” Jennings said.

His teammates have taken notice as well.

“I feel like he took full advantage of his opportunities,” said defensive tackle Lawrence Guy. “From his rookie year just trying to learn the system, coming in and doing what he was asked to do, then when he came in and showed up he got to showcase his talents.”

“It’s part of the fun of the game, seeing guys take advantage of their opportunities, learn and grow,” said center David Andrews. “Especially a guy like Anf, who came in, dealt with some injuries early on in his career and is now getting an opportunity and really taking advantage of it.”

With no playoffs on the horizon and an uncertain future looming for the franchise, the progress made by young players like Jennings has been an encouraging development. As a pending free agent the Patriots will soon have to make a decision on his future, but Jennings has certainly made a strong case he deserves to be back.