New England Patriots: Tre Nixon has made a fanboy out of Bill Belichick

The New England Patriots have a nice little story brewing in the development of second-year wide receiver Tre Nixon.

In last Thursday night’s 23-21 preseason loss to the New York Giants, Nixon was one of the bright spots hauling in four catches for 81 yards.  With both his effort and growth on display, this 2021 seventh-round pick is doing all he can to lock down a roster spot.

With the hard work he has put in this offseason and through the first preseason game, he certainly has Bill Belichick’s praise.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick loves players like Tre Nixon

Who said the New England Patriots head coach couldn’t draft wide receivers anyway.  While there will always be a N’Keal Harry type bust in the higher rounds, players like Nixon show Belichick can find team-oriented players in the later rounds.

Julian Edelman instantly comes to mind and although Belichick didn’t draft a Wes Welker or Troy Brown, he did coach them and Nixon and recognizes something in Nixon that each of those players exhibited.  They each had a strong work ethic that propelled them into productive NFL players.

"“Hard-working kid, tough kid,” Belichick said of Nixon following Thursday night’s game.  “Looking for an opportunity, has worked hard.  Got an opportunity, and this is the time to take advantage of these opportunities whether it’s in the return game as it was for Tre and Myles (Bryant), or whether it’s in other phases of the kicking game as a coverage player or a blocker on the return team. …”"

The University of Central Florida alum absolutely took advantage during the preseason opener vs the Giants with this nice 32-yard reception from rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe:

More catches like this and it will be hard to leave Nixon off the roster and he could challenge both Jakobi Meyers and Nelson Agholor for playing time, especially if he continues to showcase the work ethic Belichick raves about.

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"“Guys that show the aptitude in practice to be competitive in those situations earn an opportunity to play in the game and show that they can do,” Belichick continued.  “Tre would certainly fall into that category.  Nobody works harder than he does.  He’s one of the hardest-working players on the team.”"

For a New England Patriots team starving for offensive playmakers to break out in 2022, this is a nice story brewing this preseason.  The question going forward is if Nixon continue to progress and eventually merge into that slot receiver role the team covets.  If he does, it will benefit Mac Jones who is a precision passer whose strength is in that intermediate passing game.

Those two have displayed great chemistry during OTAs and practice.  Now it’s time to see if that continues on the field during the rest of this preseason and hopefully into the 2022 regular season.