Patriots Week 5 Predictions: The 5 Players Who Will Rock Vs. Browns

Chris Hogan

The player who will benefit the most with Brady’s return is Chris Hogan.  Following a big Week 1 performance against the Arizona Cardinals and a good first half in Week 2, Hogan has been pretty silent the last couple weeks.  Most of that has been due to the quarterback under center.

With Jimmy Garoppolo at the helm, Hogan was one of his favorite targets.  The fiery receiver found ways to get open and has clearly become the team’s deep option.  I see Hogan establishing the same chemistry with Tom Brady.  The two connected nicely in the preseason.  And it wasn’t just the one preseason game Brady played.  During an intrasquad scrimmage, Brady completed 25 of 25 passes.  Eight of those balls were caught by Hogan.

I expect Hogan to have much more focus this week and featured in the offense in a short passing game that will eventually open up something over the top.  Another reason I expect a big game out of Hogan is that both of Brady’s favorite receivers – Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman – are both slowed with injuries…so we are led to believe.