FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- As the New England Patriots prepare to play without defensive end Chandler Jones, who is reportedly out for a month with a hip injury, the defense is turning to the next man up.

Rookie defensive lineman Dominique Easley, the team’s first pick in the 2014 draft, has battled injuries this season, but his versatility along the line will likely put him in a bigger role.

Head coach Bill Belichick touched on Easley’s unique ability to play anywhere on the line.

“Well, Easley has really played all those spots across the board from college and even back from the spring and when he was able to practice in training camp, he’s worked all the way from outside the tight end to on the center’s nose,” Belichick said. “He’s been at every spot.

“That is unusual," Belichick acknowledged. "He has a unique set of skills that allow him to do that. Quick enough to play outside and enough playing strength to play inside to a degree. Good instinctiveness in terms of recognizing blocking schemes. He knows there are a lot of different things that can happen when you are in there between a guard and a center or a guard and a tackle, compared to when you are outside with a tight end.”

Belichick also explained that Easley, whose natural position is defensive tackle, is impressive in that he can move from the inside to the outside of the line.

“The game from the inside-out as opposed to the outside-in is different,” Belichick said. “So, there’s not a lot of guys that that comes real easy to. There’s a few, but not a lot.”

Belichick compared Easley to defensive tackle Vince Wilfork and even linebacker Dont'a Hightower in their versatility.

“I would say Vince is like that,” Belichick said. “He’s very instinctive -- not that he is going to play in a 9-technique, but center, guard, tackle and playing on the tight end -- he instinctively does things well there. Same thing with the linebacker position with a guy like Hightower that can play end of the line, that can play tackle bubble, guard bubble, that can play as a middle linebacker over the center.

“It’s hard to find those guys that have that kind of instinctiveness that can see the game I don’t want to say equally well, but pretty equally well at those different spots.

“It’s a lot different looking at the game outside-in vs. inside-out and to be able to flip back and forth and do that -- not everybody can do that by a long stretch. It takes physical talent but it also takes a mental and instinctive skill to be able to handle that transition, too.”