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

If the New England Patriots lost Tom Brady, the 2019 NFL season is doomed, but what other players are important to team’s success?

Now that mandatory minicamp is over and the New England Patriots are modeling off their Super bowl LIII rings, it is time to really look forward to the 2019 NFL season and what lies ahead for a team favorited to get to the big dance once again.

Before we start making roster predictions and making our weekly picks, let’s explore some elements that can influence all of that.  Of course, there has been just about nothing that has held down a Patriots team lead by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady since the beginning of the new millennium.

Since that time, Brady has served as the team’s most important player.  A constant and reliable factor behind center, the man known to most as the G.O.A.T and to a small circle of fans as “Tom Terrific,” has been more of a motivational factor for the team along with willing the team to wins they probably had no business winning.

But, that’s Tom Brady.  He is a quarterback and leader that allows Belichick to take risks in building the roster year in and year out.  Without Brady, life would go on for the New England Patriots, but it would be one tough struggle.  With seemingly interchangeable pieces at just about every position, except at perhaps quarterback and the jury is out on tight end, here are the three 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.

2. Stephon Gilmore

The best cornerback in the game no one talks about except New England Patriots fans, and a few disgruntled Buffalo Bills fans, is Stephon Gilmore.

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As important as Shaq Mason is along the offensive line, Gilmore is more important in the Patriots’ secondary as he allows Bill Belichick to once again be creative in the defensive scheme due to his ability to lockdown opposing team’s top receivers.

It seems weird to have Stephon Gilmore as one of the team’s most important players just two seasons after he struggled in just communicating on defense, but he has found his way and etched himself as a reliable factor.  We won’t call him “Gilmore Island” because that would be corny, but he has become a more important contributor than Darrelle Revis was during his one-year run in Foxborough.

Now anchoring a deep secondary, Gilmore has morphed into the quiet leader who leads with his play on the field rather than his mouth.  Perhaps, that is why he is really never mentioned in the conversation nationally when it comes to the NFL’s top corners.  He just does his job and does it well, which allows Belichick and the rest of the secondary to be creative against passing attacks.

1.    Julian Edelman

Two seasons ago proved the New England Patriots could win without Julian Edelman.

However, that was a team that still had Rob Gronkowski, Brandon Cooks, Danny Amendola and Chris Hogan as targets for Tom Brady.  That team eventually lost Super Bowl LII, but one has to wonder whether they would’ve have won if Edelman was in the mix.

Besides making so many clutch catches, as he did during the team’s Super Bowl LIII run, Edelman is a tenacious force on the field that just sparks the offense.  That is why without Gronk and only Phillip Dorset and 2019 first-round pick N’Keal Harry as the only receivers locked to make the roster, Edelman is extra important this upcoming season.

While new playmakers find their niche and chemistry with Brady, Julian Edelman will be that reliable target the team needs to move the chains.  More importantly, his leadership will go a long way in the development of Harry who already said he is becoming a better route runner because of Edelman’s influence.

He can also help mold a slot player like Braxton Berrios who has impressed during mandatory minicamp.  Added to Julian Edelman’s importance is his versatility.  He is able to do multiple things within the offense and also return punts for the team.

Needless to say, if anything happened to Julian Edelman this season, the New England Patriots will have a tough time offensively unless some unknown weapon emerges as a top offensive threat.