Patriots Fans Should Be Eyeing These Three Things In Preseason
The Patriots' offseason, especially training camp, has had lots of eyes on it, and for good reason. Last season was an offensive disaster, and the Patriots limped to an 8-9 record. This season, the Patriots have fresh, more experienced leadership on the offensive side with Bill O'Brien taking over as OC and Adrian Klemm taking over the offensive line coaching duties.
A lot is still to be determined, and nobody knows yet, perhaps even in Foxborough, what the 2023 Patriots are going to look like. Here are three of the biggest areas of uncertainty outside of the obvious uncertainly in the quarterback situation, that Patriots nation should undoubtedly keep their eyes on - uncertainties which, if resolved, could bring the best out of Mac.
Is There Enough Explosiveness Within The Weapons Group?
It may be an obvious question, but it's going to be an important one. The Patriots do have a solid and deep group. With JuJu Smith-Schuster leading the way, followed by Devante Parker, Tyquan Thornton, Kendrick Bourne, with the promising rookies Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte following them, the team has options, and there are varied skill sets.
The more pressing question, then, is: is there enough of a fear factor? JuJu has a lot of versatility, agility, and speed, and he's shown the ability to put up big numbers and contribute downfield. However, he hasn't ever really embraced the number-one receiver role. Kendrick Bourne had a promising 2021, but after a disappointing 2022 season in which Patricia gravely underused him, can he get his mojo back, and can he be a downfield force? Last year, the answer differed greatly from game to game.
Parker, fresh off an extension, has a lot to prove. He had his moments and may be the best 50:50 option on the roster, but there are questions about his health and consistency. Thornton is the roster's speedster, but he's had injuries and had some drops last year, interspersed between some very impressive moments. Demario Douglas has been incredibly promising in this camp, having maybe the best cutting ability in the wideouts group, but he lacks the size needed for a truly fearsome weapon.
All of them have fearsome aspects, yet all of them have question marks. How much they can resolve these uncertainties could make a 3+ win difference in the success of the team. Gesicki and Henry add a potent TE duo, and with Bill O'Brien coaching them, it could be the best TE duo New England has had since 2012.
Running back promises to be a potent position. Rhamondre has shown his ability to be a feature back for the squad, and Ty Montgomery, if he can stay healthy, can be a third-down back with the added wrinkle of his ability to catch and even line up as a receiver. They could absolutely use a veteran back within all this, someone who can reliably take the load off Stevenson, but it's still a promising position. The biggest question there is if the sophomores Strong and Harris can evolve into reliable players.
Can The Patriots Get Any Consistency At Tackle?
While a lot of the focus in diagnosing last year's offensive issues goes towards the skill positions, the offensive line was an equally prominent if not more prominent problem, and the lapses in pass protection especially significantly limited what the offense was able to do.
At left, Trent Brown arguably provides the most talent of anyone in the tackle group, but his 2022 season left a lot to be desired, between breakdowns in protection and issues with penalties. His demeanor and enthusiasm in practice aren't ideal either, but, simply put, the Patriots need him right now because of what he can do when at his best.
On the right side, the Patriots didn't elect to sign any big-ticket free agent positions or spend any draft picks on right tackle, not taking any OL until the fourth round. However, they did give themselves additional options for the position. This is certainly an improvement on last season, where the Patriots were always one injury away from having a void at the position, and none of the right tackles they played were up to any sort of par.
Free agent signings Riley Reiff and Calvin Anderson have the most starting experience at right on the roster, but there are question marks on their consistency and longevity. Conor McDermott was easily the least objectionable option at RT last year and held up as well as he reasonably could, and retaining him over Cannon and Wynn was absolutely the right call, but he struggled against the better defensive ends he matched up with.
Draft pick Sidy Sow, who was a guard for most of college, did play right tackle as a freshman and could be a compelling option there. The same could be said about Mike Onwenu, who did play tackle early in his career, but that could compromise what is looking like an exceptional interior unit.
Someone needs to emerge out of this pack and evolve for Mac to have the time in the pocket to produce his best football. Adrian Klemm gives the best chance for this to happen, but coaching alone isn't sufficient without player input.
The CB Group Has Enough Talent, Does It Have Enough Depth?
With the Gonzalez draft pick, the Patriots added a speedy guy with ball skills, good instincts, and size. Not much more can be asked of a corner.
He, at the time, was joining a strong core with Jonathan, Jack, and Marcus Jones. At the time, that certainly looked like enough, and the thought at the time was that additional depth would be nice, but not necessary. With the uncertain status of Jack Jones, doubts must be cast on the depth of the unit.
Jonathan is a proven commodity and is coming off an excellent 2022. Gonzalez is evolving daily during camp and is looking like he will be ready to go in week one. Beyond that, there are question marks. Marcus showed some promise as a corner last year but only had consistent meaningful playing time at CB later in the season. He will need to evolve quite a bit for the Patriots to feel like they have three starting corners.
The question must arise, then, if Jalen Mills will be able to transition to safety as was planned. With Dugger, Phillips, Peppers, and perhaps even Marte Mapu (depending on where the Patriots choose to line him up) all being solid players, arguably much better than solid for a couple of them, safety is a position of less need than CB. Mills may need to play corner this season, and if he does, it adds security to a position at which the rest of the depth is Myles Bryant and Shaun Wade, who struggled immensely in 2022.
Do you play fantasy sports? Check out Trophy Smack for your next league prize! If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to our Youtube channel & Newsletter for SR Original Shows & more! Finally, give our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok & Threads a follow, all of which have great content!
Comments