Chowder and Champions
Fansided

New England Patriots: 5 players to watch in 2020 NFL season

By Sam Minton

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 04: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots looks on during the AFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 04: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots looks on during the AFC Wild Card Playoff game against the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
New England Patriots
New England Patriots Linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley  (Photo by Timothy Bouwer/ISI Photos/Getty Images) /

Ja’Whaun Bentley

Ja’Whaun Bentley burst onto the scene in 2018. He became a quality linebacker that the Patriots could rely on. Then he got hurt and missed the rest of the season.

In 2019, Bentley was able to stay healthy but still started the same amount of games (2). He did improve though with 44 tackles.

The reason to focus on Bentley is I want to see if he continues to progress. Bentley has shown some potential to be a middle linebacker you can build your defense around.

Bentley is great at stopping the run and also is serviceable in coverage. If we can see Bentley improve as a pass rusher he could become a replacement for Dont’a Hightower. Sadly Hightower isn’t a spring chicken anymore and now that linebackers are retiring closer to 30 he might not be playing a lot longer.

Also, the Patriots lost both Kyle Van Noy and Elandon Roberts to free agency. Bentley should get a lot of playing time in 2020.

So I will be keeping an eye on Bentley. Hopefully, he will improve on a quality start to his career.

Home/New England Patriots