New England Patriots: Most important offensive skill players in 2020

Second, someone who got a bad rap in 2019, Mohamed Sanu.

Mohamed Sanu was very good in his first two games with the New England Patriots after the trade from Atlanta. A lot was expected, and he delivered early on the promise.

In his second game with the Patriots, Sanu caught 10 for 81 yards against Baltimore on November 4th. That performance was a great sign and it seemed that he would provide that third target Brady needed to take the offense to a new level. It wasn’t meant to be.

That next week against Philadelphia, Sanu wrecked his ankle, on a punt return, no less. This was a desperation move by Bill Belichick who evidently thought he had no one else to use.

It was a bad decision. Very bad. This injury wrecked Sanu’s season and ended any realistic hopes for New England.

Sanu looks great after having to have surgery in May. (Why he had the surgery that late in the offseason is another question.) That’s really good news. A healthy Sanu performing at his usual high level will be huge for the Patriots in 2020.

In 2019, New England had Julian Edelman at wide receiver and little else. The next leading catch total was by 29 catches by Phillip Dorsett. Dorsett left in free agency. It shouldn’t be too difficult to replace his production, or rather lack thereof. Hopefully, that is.

Sanu is the most likely wide receiver to take up the No. 2 wide receiver position and make it a productive one. If healthy, Sanu is far and away the Patriots’ second-best wide receiver after Edelman.

He may not be a breakaway threat, but he is a solid, tough, dependable pass-catcher who will make Stidham’s or whoever else is at the helm (Cam Newton, maybe?) for New England’s job easier.

Assuming he is indeed healthy and ready to go in September or whenever the current situation hopefully allows, my guess is Mohamed Sanu will be the guy opposite Julian Edelman. He’ll be a solid second wide receiver and could be a key to the offense’s success in 2020.