A look at the New England Patriots 2020 rookie class and what first-year players will be immediate impacts.
Entering the most important draft in his New England Patriots coaching career, Bill Belichick didn’t disappoint when it came to moving around the draft board and having his dog Nike steal the show on draft night with a cameo.
It was actually kind of ironic because some NFL critics actually feel it was a dog of a draft by the Patriots. NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper pretty much summed up the draft, giving Belichick a C+ due to the team not selecting a quarterback in any round of the draft.
Here is what he had to say about punting on the QB position, via Boston.com:
"“My biggest issue with this class is no quarterback. The Patriots passed on Jalen Hurts, Jacob Eason, and Jake Fromm throughout. I’m not sold that 2019 fourth-rounder Jarrett Stidham should be the unquestioned starter.”"
Had the Philadelphia Eagles had not sent shockwaves by selecting Jalen Hurts right in front of the Patriots, perhaps that narrative would be different. But, one never knows what Belichick is thinking, but it would’ve apparent that Hurts was their man until that wrench was thrown into everything.
Still, it was an interesting draft by the New England Patriots. Despite trading out of the first round and selecting an unknown raw talent like Kyle Dugger with their first pick, the team did well to address some draft needs, including two tight ends who they actually traded up for.
In all, Bill Belichick may have selected some steals in the draft. Players who can come in and make an immediate impact on a New England Patriots team hungry for both youth and speed.
Here are five rookies who can make an immediate impact in 2020.
New England Patriots will count on K Justin Rohrwasser.
Taken with the No. 159 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Marshall kicker Justin Rohrwasser was a pick only Bill Belichick would make.
Who else would take a kick with a mid-round pick but the New England Patriots head coach who values his special teams players and specialists?
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Well, despite the team passing up on some other positional needs like quarterback and wide receiver, the selection of a kicker wasn’t surprising given the team has decided to move on from long-time kicker Stephen Gostkowski. With any drafting of a kicker, the issue was more where they selected him.
Standing at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, Justin Rohrwasser will have more of a spotlight placed on him than any other kicker the team could’ve selected.
First, he is following two kickers who were a main part of the team’s 20-year dynasty in Adam Vinatieri and Gostkowski. With that long history of clutch kickers, Patriots fans will expect similar success from Rohrwasser. Every missed kick will be scrutinized, especially if that involves extra-point kicks.
Another reason he will have the spotlight placed on him is a question as to who he is off the field. After he was selected by the New England Patriots, Justin Rohrwasser had some character questions to answer after photos circulated social media highlighting a controversial tattoo on his arm of the logo of an anti-government group called the “Three Percenters.”
Rohrwasser dismissed that he was aware of what the logo symbolized when he got the tattoo and vowed to remove it.
Between playing for a coach like Bill Belichick and battling public scrutiny, the 23-year-old kicker will have to kick a lot of clutch field goals to win fans over and I think he will have an impact in that fashion. Given the limitations of the offense following the 2020 NFL Draft, Justin Rohrwasser will have plenty of scoring opportunities when it comes to field goals.
In that respect, he may turn out to be one of the more important rookies for the New England Patriots in the 2020 season. Coming off a final college season at Marshall in which he converted on 85.7 percent of his field goal attempts and 97.2 percent on extra-points, he has the capability, but the main question is will he have the mental toughness to be successful in the NFL.
Anfernee Jennings a steal for the New England Patriots.
Selected with the No. 87 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, New England Patriots rookie linebacker Anfernee Jennings has a certain edge to him and the team will see his impact almost immediately.
A third-round pick with first round size (6-foot-2, 259 pounds) and talent, Jennings will be the latest player to make the jump from Nick Saban’s Alabama program to Bill Belichick and the Patriots.
That experience alone will help Jennings make a successful transition from college to the pros, but he will also have the benefit of playing behind and learning from a fellow Alabama alum Dont’a Hightower.
With a nice combination of strength and versatility, Anfernee Jennings is actually much like Hightower in that he is an overpowering force who does like quickness. But that ability to set the edge along with his competitive nature will make him an instant fan favorite once his snaps increases.
Also, as a player who has seen his production in college limited due to injury, his best days are ahead of him and he is a player who will flourish under Bill Belichick much like a Trey Flowers.
In all, Anfernee Jennings is one of those Day 2 picks that we will all look back on and say Belichick and the New England Patriots hit the jackpot. How quickly in the season that he makes an impact will depend of course on how quickly he picks up the defense.
New England Patriots top pick Kyle Dugger is hungry.
After trading out of the first round, the New England Patriots surprised the NFL world by making their top pick a player out of a small Division I-AA school named Lenoir-Rhyne.
It wasn’t a quarterback, it wasn’t a receiver, it wasn’t even a linebacker. With the No. 37 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Patriots went with safety Kyle Dugger.
What?
While the position made sense given the age of both Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung, the player was someone Patriots fans had to quickly go google and find YouTube highlights of because he was simply not on any mock drafts as a player, they would take that high.
But, as surprising of a pick as Kyle Dugger was, the more of a Bill Belichick type pick after seeing his talent and the type of athlete he is. And of course, he can play special teams.
That is mostly where I see Dugger making an impact in his rookie season. But the amount of hunger he has will see him make some impressive plays on defense. That hunger is also a reason former New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison loves the pick and sees a lot of himself in Kyle Dugger.
"“To me, if you can play – there’s a lot to be said about Division I-AA players like myself, Division II players,” Harrison told NBC-10 Boston’s Raul Martinez, as transcribed by WEEI. “We’re hungry …And you get so tired of all the big schools and LSUs and (2020 second-round pick) Grant Delpits being named in front of you, so I think this kid’s going to come in with an edge on him.”"
Indeed, he will and when Belichick finds ways to really utilize his size, speed and physicality, no one will question this particular pick.
New England Patriots find their tight end in Devin Asiasi.
Poised to make a big impact in 2020, third-round pick Devin Asiasi has both the size and pass-catching ability to re-establish the tight end position for the New England Patriots.
Along with fellow tight end and third-round pick Dalton Keene, the UCLA product will have the opportunity to be a fast contributor given both Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo were pretty much non-existent in 2019.
In fairness, both experienced injuries throughout the season, but when both were on the field, either was able to develop any sort of consistency.
At 6-foot-3 and 258 pounds, Devin Asiasi will be a big target for Jarrett Stidham or whoever is starting at quarterback for the New England Patriots in 2020.
Coming off a season in which is caught 44 passes for 641 yards and four touchdowns, if he produces just half of that in his rookie season with the Patriots, he would already give more to the team than either LaCosse or Izzo did combined.
With his ability to catch passes down the seam and overall toughness, the Patriots have themselves something to work with at the tight end position. He may not be the next Rob Gronkowski or Ben Coates, but his continued growth as a tight end makes him a young playmaker to watch.
I’m predicting his contributions will come as soon as his rookie season. Count on it.
New England Patriots get a winner in Josh Uche.
As the biggest rookie impact was made in 2019 from a defensive player out of Michigan, the biggest impact in 2020 will be make from a defensive player out of Michigan.
Just like former and now current teammate Chase Winovich, second-round pick Josh Uche is an undersized edge rusher who has the speed and motor to create nightmares for opposing quarterbacks.
With the loss of Kyle Van Noy to free agency, Bill Belichick basically replaced him with the same kind of player who will ultimately be a better player for the Patriots due to his upside.
Compared to the Patriots Hall-of-Famer Tedy Bruschi (perhaps unfairly), it is the both the versatility and pass-rush skills of Josh Uche that has drawn that comparison.
Could he be the steal of the draft given where he was selected (No. 60 overall)?
By the middle of the 2020 NFL season, New England Patriots fans will think so and will love both the speed and attitude Uche brings to the team, especially reuniting with his tag-team sack buddy Chase Winovich.
While he may not get many defensive snaps to start the season, Josh Uche will earn those snaps and be a contributor on special teams making impacts in multiple roles just like Winovich.
In my opinion, the New England Patriots have a winner in the former Michigan linebacker who will help make the 2020 draft class be a memorable one.