New England Patriots: Most important offensive skill players in 2020
First, two future Patriots Hall-of-Famers, Julian Edelman (also a possible Pro Football Hall-of-Famer,) and James White.
No surprise here.
Julian Edelman is the captain of the New England Patriots offense.
Like Devin McCourty on defense. He should be accorded that title officially. He has earned the honor. He deserves it. Julian will unquestionably lead the offense this season. And he’ll be assisted by James White.
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While he is 34 years old, Edelman plays younger than players years younger. This is his 11th season in New England. With Brady gone, he should lead the team out of the tunnel as well as beating everyone downfield.
Edelman caught 100 passes last season in a relatively poor offensive year for everyone else on New England’s offense, not names James White. Even Brady wasn’t Brady. But Julian Edelman was his usual outstanding self.
He will have to be again in 2020 if New England is to be competitive. But absent injury, he’s the only offensive skill player along with White on whom you can count. The others are all question marks. A few have to contribute substantially or their offense will be horrendous.
This states the obvious again. Edelman and White have carried the Patriots’ offense with Brady for years. White caught 72 last season. Together with Edelman, that’s 172 or 46 percent of Brady’s 373 completions in 2019.
They will be called upon to do the same in 2020, only more so.
With Brady’s departure, they are the offensive leaders along with James Andrews. The buck stops with them.
Yet, when the dust settles, there is no question that Edelman and White will step up again as they always do for New England but even those two are not enough.
James White and Julian Edelman are the two best skill players on New England’s offense. They are leaders and will have to lead the way in 2020.