New England Patriots 2019: 3 most important players not named Tom Brady

3. Shaq Mason

As long as New England Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia is alive, the team will find a way to be okay along the barrier protecting Tom Brady.

The team lost left tackle Nate Soldier last year to free agency and was able to replace him with Trent Brown.  Now that Brown is making the big bucks elsewhere, the expectation is that Scarnecchia will find a way to make someone else work at left tackle, primarily 2018 first-round pick Isaiah Wynn.

So, why pick an offensive lineman as one of the most important players on the team?

Because if the Patriots are to become a power running team in 2019 and that is where they are trending, right guard Shaq Mason is a necessary ingredient for that.

After scoring a nice pay raise with a contract extension in 2018, Mason ranked as the highest-graded RG in 2018 by Pro Football Focus.  Yup, the Georgia Tech product scored a grade of 85.0 and was a top-16 pass-blocker at his position and ranked first among all NFL guards in run-blocking.

As a force Sony Michel, Rex Burkhead and James White loved running behind, Shaq Mason has emerged as a necessary element in both the passing and running game.  Not only does he keep Tom Brady on his feet, he bugles open holes that even Brady himself could gain at least five yards.  If somehow Mason went down with injury, Dante Scarnecchia will find a way to make things work, but the New England Patriots would have to change their approach.