The New England Patriots season may seem far away, but it will be interesting to see what the team’s wide receiver corps will look like.
It may be June but we are inching closer and closer to the best time of the year when the NFL season is in full swing. Soon enough we will see our New England Patriots back on the field at Gillette Stadium.
We already are in the midst of OTA’s and training camp is now just a little more than a month away. No longer will we be worrying about Tom Brady’s absence. We will be focused on winning football games.
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This offseason there has been a lot of change, but one position went under a rather intensive overhaul. The New England Patriots have a ton of new wide receivers.
Now don’t fret, you will still see some familiar faces. The team re-signed Phillip Dorsett and Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman is still on the roster. Also, who can forget about special teams extraordinaire Matthew Slater?
This season will be a challenge for New England’s offense. They lost arguably their greatest weapon with Rob Gronkowski retiring. It hard to replace a player as talented as Gronk, but that is what New England will try to do in 2019.
So even though it’s June let’s take a look at this year’s wide receiver group and see who will be getting a lot of playing time and who will be spending plenty of time on the bench.
Practice squad
If everything goes right for the New England Patriots these group of guys won’t be seeing the field, but injuries and suspensions can change all of that.
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One of the first players that comes to mind is Braxton Berrios. Berrios suffered an injury and missed the entire 2018 season. This has really set him back in the organization.
Going into the 2018 season it seemed like Berrios had a chance to make a name for himself with Julian Edelman suspended for the first 4 games of the regular season. Berrios was even getting compared to Edelman but he never got a chance to prove himself.
I think that the Patriots are headed in a new direction with there offense this season acquiring taller receivers that won’t be going over the middle. In 2019 Berrios will have to grind away on the practice squad. I also expect undrafted free agent wide receiver Jakobi Meyers to join him.
PUP list
Even though the Patriots signed Demaryius Thomas in the offseason fans shouldn’t expect to see him on the field anytime soon.
Last season Thomas suffered an Achilles injury and those don’t heal easily. There’s a good chance that we see Thomas start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
Whenever Thomas does come back he will play a major role for the team. I would expect Thomas to be the 3rd receiver on the depth chart when he is healthy.
The Patriots will be hoping that Thomas will be able to return to his glory days. Last season Thomas had 59 catches for 677 yards and 5 touchdowns. That is a shell of what he was in the beginning of his career.
New England won’t be expecting him to rack up a ton of yards since he will be their 3rd wide receiver, but he still needs to make an impact.
Where I expect Thomas to make the biggest impact is in the red zone. He should be someone that Tom Brady looks to throw to in jump ball situations which should hopefully lead to more touchdowns for Thomas.
1. Julian Edelman
Without a doubt, the No.1 wide receiver on the New England Patriots is Julian Edelman. He will be until he decides to retire.
I expect 2019 to be another great season for Edelman. He will get even more targets now that Rob Gronkowski is no longer on the team.
In just 12 games Edelman was able to snag 74 receptions for 850 yards and 6 touchdowns. Imagine what he can down with a full season.
This season should be filled with double-digit reception games for Edelman. Hopefully, he will eclipse 100 catches this season and also tally over 1,000 receiving yards.
There will be a ton of pressure on Julian Edelman to perform well. If he struggles out of the gate I expect fans to be upset, because the Patriots don’t really have a backup plan at wide receiver.
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So expect to see Tom Brady throwing the ball to Julian Edelman a lot in 2019.
2. N’Keal Harry
The New England Patriots 1st round selection will be a starter right away and Pats fans can’t wait to see what he can do. N’Keal Harry has all the makings of a star receiver in the NFL.
When the Patriots drafted Harry I was intrigued. You have a better chance of seeing a dragon than seeing New England draft a receiver in the 1st round.
Harry signals the new direction that the Patriots are going in. They are looking for receivers that can be deep threats and be problems in the red zone for opposing defenses’.
Standing at 6’2″ Harry will definitely be a target in the red zone. I don’t think he will rack up catches at a Julian Edelman like pace, but when he gets the ball, Harry will make it worthwhile.
It might be my Patriots bias, but I think Harry will have one of the best seasons of this year’s rookie class.
3. Phillip Dorsett
The Patriots re-signed Phillip Dorsett for a reason. They must believe that he can be apart of the offense.
When Dorsett has gotten chances he has proven to be a solid wide receiver. Patriots fans are just waiting for him to break out.
Dorsett is still young so I think there is still time for him to improve but that window is starting to close. The deal he signed is your prototypical prove it deal. If Dorsett doesn’t perform well this season he won’t be returning.
I hope to see Dorsett eclipse 500 yards and at the minimum match his touchdown total from last season. Having one of your depth wide receivers perform that well would mean wonders for Tom Brady and the rest of the offense.
Dorsett has a spot on the roster, but if he doesn’t perform well it might be his last year on the New England Patriots.
4. Dontrelle Inman
I really like the Dontrelle Inman signing as it boosted the New England Patriots depth at wide receiver. If a guy like Phillip Dorsett or Julian Edelman gets hurt the team will be glad he is on the roster.
Inman has traveled around the NFL and has found some success. His best season came in 2016 when he had 58 catches for 810 yards and 4 touchdowns.
2016 wasn’t long ago so I believe that Inman still has that ability inside of him. Now that he is with Tom Brady he should be even better.
Inman is a speedy receiver but still has some size. This allows him to blow by cornerbacks and makes him tough to bring down.
I don’t expect Inman to put up amazing numbers, but he has tons of big-play potential. It will be interesting to see how Josh McDaniels uses Inman. I would expect to see a lot of go routes.
Hopefully, Inman will be another wide receiver who reinvigorates his career in New England.
5. Maurice Harris
The last receiver on the depth chart will be Maurice Harris. His time on the roster could be short-lived depending on how New England’s roster looks.
The Patriots could very well enter the season with 2 tight ends so there is space for an extra wide receiver when Demaryius Thomas eventually returns to the lineup.
Harris quickly rose to prominence in Washington making the jump from the practice squad to the 53 man roster. Still, it wasn’t like he had an amazing season. Harris only had 28 catches for 304 yards.
There is also still a chance that Harris ends up getting cut. The Patriots don’t have a lot of money committed to Harris so if they want to get rid of him when Thomas comes back.
The New England Patriots have an interesting group of wide receivers this season and fans will be intrigued to see who makes the roster.