Two newcomers to the New England Patriots practice last week were certainly very solid additions to the practicing squad.
As patspulpit.com reported, two top rookies, Christian Barmore and Rhamondre Stevenson made their practice debuts with the team in the voluntary sessions last week.
This is good news for Patriots fans and good decisions by the two highly important rookies. Bill Belichick likely has little patience with veteran players who skip voluntary practices, never mind rookies.
New England Patriots rookies adding some excitement
One might speculate whether Tom Brady’s uncharacteristic skipping of OTA’s late in his New England career impacted his standing with the team, but that’s another story. It certainly was a signal of his feelings towards the team without a doubt.
But two rookies like Barmore and Stevenson much is certainly expected. One might speculate that both as newcomers to their players’ association skipped the first batch of OTA’s as a symbol of solidarity to the totality. Not a bad thought at all.
Yet, their returning after that perhaps symbolic gesture to the association to get to work with their new team and teammates as soon as possible, was a very solid decision.
All new players and previous Patriots need work to get up to speed. For newly acquired veterans it’s with their new team, teammates, and systems. This necessity is even more important for rookies.
As former Patriots coach Bill Parcells once alluded, these players can be “in the tall grass” when they arrive on the NFL scene. By that, he meant searching around aimlessly trying to find out what to do, how to be a professional, and above all to make the team.
Why Barmore and Stevenson could be important cogs for the New England Patriots
Both rookies, Christian Barmore, a second-round pick, and Rhamondre Stevenson a fourth-rounder could very well be called upon to be contributors in their first season in New England.
Barmore is a potentially game-changing defensive tackle probably with the most potential impact since Vince Wilfork with a propensity to sack the quarterback even more than Vince did.
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When Barmore is focused, as he was in the FBS Championship game against Ohio State, he is a force to be reckoned with, game-planned for, and a wrecking ball of an inside disruptor.
He not only is a force against the run but his eight sacks in 2020 are indicative of his pass-rushing prowess. From a raw talent perspective, he just may be the most talented interior lineman on the team.
For those reasons, he needs to be on the scene since the Patriots were poor run-stoppers and had difficulty sacking the quarterback lasts season, as well. The opportunity is there for Barmore to step right in and contribute in 2021 for New England. We’ll see.
Stevenson has been hyped in this space early and often both before and since the draft. It is not often in many years of Patriots draft-watching that the club actually settles on a player this writer had suggested. It has not been often at all, to put it mildly.
But, the red, white, blue, and silver did this time and Stevenson could be a real find, especially in the fourth round no-less. It was suggested in this space that if he were there in the third round it would be fine. To land him in the fourth was a possible coup for the home team.
Seeing him on the field rather than on tape has afforded coaches and observers alike to realize what this big back could bring to the team.
As had been harped upon for ages in this space, the Patriots never really tried to replace a player who may have been almost irreplaceable, LeGarrette Blount, a personal favorite of this writer.
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Blount was ill-advisedly dumped by New England after the 2016 season in which he racked up 18 touchdowns. They haven’t had a back since who could even come close to that total.
Observers are also pointing out that Stevenson can also catch the ball from the backfield making him a dual-threat and a play-action and RPO chess piece that Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels can move around the board to confound opposing defenses.
Also, and critically important, Stevenson can be the short-yardage back the Patriots have lacked for years both to extend drives and to score touchdowns near the goal line.
It’s been alluded to that Stevenson “loves” Blount. Think not? He wore the same number, No. 29 for Oklahoma as Blount did in New England.
Stevenson’s position coach, Ivan Fears has also compared him to Blount. From this perspective that is high praise indeed.
Here’s what Fears said about Blount,
"“That kind of body,” Fears said, via WEEI.com. “That kind of athletic ability. He’s probably a better pass receiver than even LeGarrette was. This kid has got pretty good hands. There are a lot of doors open here. We’ll see what sticks to him.”"
So, that’s the story of two Patriots rookies who just might make an impact in this almost completely remodeled 2021 version of the Patriots.
Should they indeed make the contributions suggested, with all the other assets assembled, this could be a really fascinating season, indeed.
Things could get really interesting in Foxborough starting in September. If so, they could continue to be interesting into 2022, as well. That’s why they play the games.