New England Patriots going all in on Jonnu Smith and Nelson Agholor
The New England Patriots didn’t make the splash other AFC teams made during the first two waves of free agency, but they still have expectations that a couple high-price free agents from last year make the kind of impact they have been hoping for. Those two players are Jonnu Smith and Nelson Agholor.
While the team has gotten their money worth with Hunter Henry, Kendrick Bourne and Matthew Judon, a transformation by both Smith and Agholor in their second season with the team could suddenly catapult the Patriots’ offense into a unit to be reckoned with.
As both players failed to live up to the hype in 2021, Patriots owner Robert Kraft believes his team can find a way to unlock that talent and turn the $28 million investment he made in the two players combined into a winning formula. That part is more on Bill Belichick and offensive assistants Joe Judge and Matt Patricia, but Kraft appears confident that the team will make changes to “take advantage of what they do best.”
New England Patriots finding ways to unleash both Nelson Agholor and Jonnu Smith
After making a trade for DeVante Parker the consensus was that the Patriots could look to part ways with Agholor. That isn’t particularly true. All it means is that the team will use the speedy Agholor in a different way as they will Smith.
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Will it work?
Well, it depends on how Parker fits into the offense and if playmakers like Henry, Bourne, Jakobi Meyers and the running back trio of Damien Harris, Rhamondre Stevenson and James White have solid seasons surrounding second-year quarterback Mac Jones.
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While there is a little less pressure on Agholor given what they now have at the wide receiver position, the Patriots absolutely need Jonnu Smith to be a factor in the offense and NBC Sports Boston’s Tom Curran believes Belichick and the Patriots will reshape the offense to make that happen.
"“I do think the offense will certainly be tweaked significantly,” Curran said during an appearance on “Gresh & Keefe” on Tuesday, via WEEI. “If you’re taking the fullback out – Jakob Johnson saying they’re not going to use a fullback anymore and it’s going to be Jonnu Smith – you’re not going to pay $9 million in salary to Jonnu Smith to run into nose tackles and middle linebackers all year. He has to have a huge role – an [Aaron] Hernandez-style, I would imagine role in the offense – and I’m curious to see whoever the offensive coordinator is, what he has decided for the formula the Patriots are going to employ. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s more downfield, press the ball down the field a little bit.”"
Curran is right there. Smith must be a factor in 2022 for Jones and the New England Patriots offense to make a leap. Even before the 2022 NFL Draft, the team has the running backs and skill players to keep opposing defenses on their heels especially if the talent of both Agholor and Smith are unleashed in unique ways.
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It will be interesting how Bill Belichick makes that happen without longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Then again, maybe it was McDaniels that didn’t know how to use those two players. Perhaps that change will be just as impactful as simply tweaking the offense.
At least with how things stand right now, the New England Patriots made their biggest investments for the 2022 NFL season last year. It’s time for that to pay off and the team as well as the players to cash in.