New England Patriots: Belichick has to address top receiver need

New England Patriots football chief Bill Belichick will be taking a huge risk if he doesn’t improve the team’s wide receiver position.

After an offseason of aggressive and seemingly very fruitful acquisitions, the Patriots personnel operation has fallen short in one critical area of the team’s offense.

They have failed to add a bonafide top wide receiver to the fold.

Adding tight ends Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry were excellent moves, though having a third tight end on hand in case of injury would be an asset, as well. They should get one.

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Also, the team has been praised here for finally drafting a big running back to help with short-yardage and goal-line situations. That would be Rhamondre Stevenson. That was solid, for sure.

Yet, the area that after tight end that was most deficient after the injury of Julian Edelman last season was wide receiver. On the plus side, the team signed two in free agency.

They were Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne. Both are decent receivers but neither has ever caught more in a season than Agholor’s 64 passes in 2018. That’s a problem.

In 2020, Cam Newton had almost no one to throw to. No one was open most of the time. Predictably, he only threw 8 touchdown passes. That was not Cam’s fault.

Now, with a whole off-season nearly competed, New England still has not replaced their top receiver, recently retired Julian Edelman with another 90 or 100 potential catch player.

That’s a mistake.

New England Patriots lack of a top receiver could cost them big time

The question remaining is whether Belichick actually believes either Agholor or Bourne is a No. 1 receiver.

If he does, he may want to take a trip to Disneyland before the season. He won’t be going after.

Both of the new acquisitions seem to be solid receivers. Agholor may be a No. 2 type (maybe) while Bourne is likely more of a No. 3. But there is no No. 1 on this team.

It was argued vehemently in this space that the Patriots should have gone all-in on Julio Jones. They punted. It was a mistake. Jones is indubitably a No. 1+ receiver.

And even at 75 – 80 percent of his former self, he’d be far and away the New England Patriots best receiver. He’s in Tennessee.

Yet, time still remains to try to pry a top receiver from a club that may have depth at that position that they would be willing to part with. One name that comes to mind is Odell Beckham Jr.

Beckham is in Cleveland. Should the Browns be seeking a player on the Patriots’ depth chart who is expendable plus a draft pick, that deal would make perfect sense.

Beckham had injury issues last season so that would have to be checked out thoroughly but at age 28 he is still young enough to be a contributor to the Patriots for several years.

If healthy, Beckham could be that potential 80-90 or so reception guy that the team needs. If he checks out physically and the Browns will deal, he’s a good option for the Patriots.

If they have to surrender a second-round pick for a healthy Beckham, no problem, but it may not take that high a pick with his injury history.

The New England Patriots seem to be depending mightily on its two new talented tight ends, Smith and Henry. Why not, they are top players.

The problem there is that both have injury histories and an injury to one would be a huge loss for New England’s offense. That scenario would be mitigated if they had a No. 1 receiver on hand.

There is still time for Belichick to make the deal that could quite possibly vault the Patriots into the playoffs and into contention for even more.

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The team has seemingly put together a formidable defense that could be a problem for any offense in the league. It would be a shame if they didn’t have an offense to do its share.

The team is close but sometimes it’s that last move that can tip the scales. Just get it done, Bill. A top wide receiver could make all the difference in the league.

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