The season is finally here, and Patriots football is just a day away. Tomorrow, the New England Patriots welcome the Miami Dolphins to Gillette Stadium, along with thousands of fans, for the first time since the 2019 season.

One’s To Watch

Here are the Patriots I’ll be keeping my eye on this weekend and why.

Mac Jones

Not a surprise here, Mac Jones makes his professional debut as an NFL starting quarterback. Many teams across the league have seen multiple signal-callers over the last few years, but, for the Patriots, it’ll be the first time a rookie quarterback will start week 1 as the starter since Drew Bledsoe in 1993.

Whatever the circumstance behind it, Mac won the starting job and gets his chance to lead this team against his former teammate in Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins. Jones will come up against some a good Miami secondary who should be more prepared than last season to deal with a more conventional pocket-passing style player.

I want to see Jones enjoy his first game and it would be awesome for him to get a win under his belt early, against a good, competent Miami outfit.

Matt Judon

Oh boy, am I excited to see Judon gear up and get on the field tomorrow. In the small sample size of reps we saw in the preseason, Judon was full tilt and made light work of the opposition offensive fronts. Judon, a two-time Pro Bowler with Baltimore, is the FA signing of the season for me, I think that will show as much in the first half of the schedule.

Expect to see him mainly in the pass-rush attack along with Josh Uche, which could be a scary tandem this year, especially if Barmore can get going in the interior.

J.C. Jackson

With Stephon Gilmore out for at least the first six games, J.C. Jackson will be at the top of the depth chart as starting cornerback. Jackson is coming off a monster nine-interception season in 2020 and needs to keep that juice flowing, starting tomorrow against Miami.

If the pass-rush can give Tua trouble, he has shown the tendency to throw balls into traffic, and with Jackson being the ball-hawk he is, expect him to be busy. Jackson could well convince the team to give him a big extension this year with his performances in the opening portion of the season.

Damien Harris

With Sony Michel traded to the Rams earlier in the offseason, the time has come for Damien Harris. Harris got limited reps in the preseason as a starter, which led to good opportunities for both Rhamondre Stevenson and J.J. Taylor to cement their place in the depth chart.

I feel good about the offensive line this year and I can’t wait to see Harris get his wheels turning, he could be in for a big year. Not to mention, if the running game gets going nicely, it should help the passing attack open up more, which could be a big boost for Mac and the receivers.

Jakobi Meyers

Imagine a couple of years ago someone telling you that UDFA Jakobi Meyers would be the top receiver for the Patriots, some journey huh? But it’s true! Meyers has had an extraordinary rise to the top of the depth chart following a good performance last year, that carried through to training camp.

Meyers will be Mac’s safety blanket of the group, which will give him great options over the middle out of the slot, I think he’ll lead the team for catches this year.

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