PatsPropaganda

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Analysis

PatsProp Preview – We’re on to Miami

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(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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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The 10 Patriots you should watch in tonight’s preseason opener against Washington

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Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald

Patriots football is back the Washington Football Team travels to New England! Gillette Stadium will have fans back tonight for the first time in 585 days which will be a special moment for all in attendance.

Here are 10 Patriots you should keep an eye on tonight!

1. QB #10 Mac Jones

Of course, this will be the main focus tonight, the first time that we’ve had the chance to see Mac Jones in a legitimate game scenario. Reports earlier today confirmed the game would be split between Mac and Cam, so at least we know we’ll see the first-round pick in action.

Really, I just want to see Mac get it out fast, make some completions, and show that he can move the offense. I don’t care if he doesn’t get any touchdowns, I’d just like to see some good fundamentals tonight.

Washington will be playing their starters for some of the game, so Mac will get a chance to be tested by a good defensive front, with the likes of Chase Young bearing down.

He’ll also be wearing his college number 10 jersey, as confirmed today by the team. Sorry Jimmy G.

https://twitter.com/Ryan_Spags/status/1425852332089225223?s=20

2. WR #15 N’Keal Harry

After the whole trade request debacle, Harry will be wanting to continue to help his own stock rise following a string of good practices at camp. Harry is in his third season with the team and has yet to show any signs of being a first-round talent.

Either the team wants to keep him, or they want to trade him. Regardless, I think he’ll be getting some good snaps tonight. I want to see him use his size and strength when targeted, redzone dominance, run after the catch, the stuff we’ve been hoping we’d see more of.

He really has to flash tonight and across the next few games, and because of that, you should keep an eye on number 15 all night.

3. DT #70 Christian Barmore

There was, without doubt, a buzz when the Barmore pick was announced on Draft night back in April. The top-rated defensive tackle has shown glimpses of his pass-rushing power so far in camp, tonight he’ll get a chance to go full kilt against an NFL offensive line.

I’m not sure exactly what role he will play in the defense this season, but, if he can show the ability to bring pressure on the opposing QB, he’ll get some good time on the field this season I’m sure.

4. CB #41 Myles Bryant

The second-year UDFA CB has a chance to impress tonight and over the new few games as he tries to earn a roster spot.

Bryant featured periodically last season, his most noteworthy contribution was his first career interception against the Rams in Week 14. With Gilmore still absent, J.C. Jackson and Jon Jones locks for the roster already, expect to see Bryant involved throughout tonight.

5. DE #51 Ronnie Perkins

Heresssssssssssssssssssssss Ronnie.

Ronnie Perkins should be another Rookie you should have your eyes on against Washington. Pass-rush tried to compensate for the lack of run-stopping play last year, here’s hoping Perkins can develop into a deadly edge-rusher.

Perkins hasn’t blown anyone away so far in camp by reports, but tonight we’ll get a first real look at what he may be able to offer the team in the early part of the season, and what that role may be.

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LB Harvey Langi returns to New England on a one-year deal

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Credit – NESN

A familiar face returns to the Patriots as Harvey Langi signs a one-year contract with the team ahead of the new season.

After going undrafted in the 2017 Draft, Langi joined the Patriots on a 3-year deal. Having earned a spot on the original 53-man roster, his rookie year was cut short following a serious car crash that left him with multiple injuries.

After recovering, Langi was released as part of the 2018 53-man roster cutdowns. Following a stint on the Jets’ practice squad, he was part of their roster during the 2020 season, making his first start in week nine and playing six games.

It’s nice to see Langi return for a second chance with the team, played well against the Patriots last season which I’m sure spurred some interest for Belichick. Not a roster lock by any means, but will offer some interesting competition in training camp.

Current LB Depth

(R) – Rookie
* – Last year of contract

Draft Review – Who are the eight new Patriots?

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Picture – OU Athletics

We are only two days removed from an exciting draft, one that saw the Patriots select eight rookies to join their team ahead of the 2021 NFL season. Already the discussion has moved to training camp and what positional battles lay ahead, so, let’s have a quick dive into the new recruits!

QB Mac Jones | Round 1 (15)

After weeks, if not months, of speculation about what the Patriots would do on the first night of the draft, they ended up staying with their given pick at 15, and selecting Mac Jones out of Alabama.

Jones, who originally committed to the University of Kentucky, opted to instead enroll with Alabama and redshirted his first season in 2017. After Tua Tagovailoa got injured in 2018 and eventually declared for the 2020 Draft, Jones took over as the starter for the remainder of his collegiate career in Alabama.

I was intrigued by Jones heading into this year’s Draft, in his final college season, he set the NCAA record for pass accuracy (77.4%) and led the Crimson Tide to the CFB National Championship, you can’t teach winning.

In the days prior to the first round, Jones was considered the 49ers top pick at number three, but, as it turned out, they had other ideas as Trey Lance was selected after Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson. Jones’ fall didn’t last past 15 as the Patriots selected a first-round quarterback for the first time since taking Drew Bledsoe in 1993.

Observations:
Accurate – Set the NCAA record for passing accuracy last season, something which is a top priority for signal-callers in the NFL.

Winner – Regardless of the juggernaut team around him, Jones still had to do the business, and he did last year, leading Alabama to Nick Saban’s seventh National Championship.

Competitiveness – Highly competitive and spoke of how he always wants to win in whatever he does. Being competitive in a regime under Nick Saban should translate well to a Belichick regime here in New England.

DT Christian Barmore | Round 2 (38)

Another Crimson Tide alum, Barmore was acquired by the Patriots following a trade with the Bengals to move up in the second round.

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Patriots add defensive support on night two of the Draft

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Gary Cosby-USA TODAY Sports

Night two didn’t bring any additions to the receiving group like many of us, including myself, may have hoped for. But, the Patriots managed to get consensus top defensive tackle in the entire draft, along with an intriguing edge rusher.

Pick 38 – DT Christian Barmore

A trade-up with the Bengals early on last night gave the Patriots the chance to land their second-straight Alabama prospect of the draft. Christian Barmore is a big, disruptive tackle who was at the top of his position in this years class.

Noel wrote about Barmore in his pre-draft DT primer – “Explosive, bully to blockers, finds the ball, quick, impressive production within the SEC. Needs to be better conditioned. Versatile. The best pass-rushing DT in the draft class. Can struggle in the run game.”

Table by CFB Sports-Reference

Eight sacks last season from the DT position in the SEC is impressive, questions will be about how he can support the run defense, something which the Patriots struggled with last season.

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Are the Patriots hitching a ride to quarterback crazy town this 2021 draft season?

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(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)


And with the 15th pick in the 2021 NFL draft the New England Patriots select….

Ahh the words Patriots fans are longing to hear, with much more concern, wonder, trepidation, and perhaps even downright fear than maybe they have for a long time.

Another thing that has definitely not happened in a long time (possibly ever) is the top four picks in a draft being quarterbacks, online Michigan betting sites such as GambleOnlineMichigan.com feature the best options for bookmakers that give odds on who they might be. You have to go back to 1999 to where quarterbacks were the first three picks in the draft with Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb and Akili Smith. Now if you’re simply talking the first round, then yeah just in the last decade, 2018 and 2020 were both years of four quarterback picks with Baker Mayfield, Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold and Lamar Jackson taken in the first 32 of 2018 and Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Tua Tagovailoa and Jordan Love wrapping up 2020. But the actual top four picks? Are we heading to crazy town this season?

More ghosts of histories past shows the Patriots first round picks being rather tackle (defensive and offensive) orientated. Not exclusively of course, and you could argue a lot of that was due to the success of Tom Brady at quarterback. A young new talented quarterback was not required early in the draft for quite a while, and the last time the Patriots addressed any quarter back selection in the first two rounds was pick 62 in 2014 with Jimmy Garoppolo.

But how different is 2021, right!?

Cam Newton and Jarett Stidham are still in the fold, but the production for both in 2020 left a lot to be desired. The question is what could they produce in this coming season; many fans are still very skeptical that it will not be much at all, and so fans look to the quarterback draft prospects with crossed fingers (and some of them, toes too!).

The situation is: the top four picking teams, Jacksonville, New York (Jets) San Francisco and Atlanta could all take a quarterback and pretty much could do with taking a quarterback. The next few picks, Cincinnati, Miami, Detroit and Carolina are arguable teams that wouldn’t be in the market for a rookie ball thrower. Selection number nine goes to Denver, the next team on the list potentially requiring a quarterback.

We are already seeing the jump of a previously second round rumoured player Mac Jones being in the choice of those top four (to clarify, some people predict him being taken third by San Francisco); could we see second or third round quarterbacks coming off the board within the first thirty two? Did I say next stop crazy town already?

With ten draft picks this year and a closing window of roster spots it isn’t in the realms of impossibility that the Patriots trade up. This year’s draft class is heavy with talent at certain non quarterback areas and although free agency spend was high there are still a few holes the Patriots could do with filling with some of the fruitful young talent. 

So here we are, single digit days away with so many unheard ofs in this up and coming draft. Fans agonize as we await that loaded sentence and just know there is a seriously good chance the pick will be… a tackle!

Patriots Draft Primer – Special Teams Ace

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The NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night so today we will look at a few future replacements for Matthew Slater. Trying to keep up with all of the movement ahead of Draft weekend is hard, the top online sportsbooks are updating the odds on where some future skill position players might get taken.

Where we stand:

The Patriots have the best Special Teams Unit from top to bottom in the entire NFL. When you have a generational talent in Punter Jake Bailey you need to surround him with weapons on the outside. Currently the Patriots are stacked with Matthew Slater, Justin Bethel, and Cody Davis.

Bethel just signed a new contract keeping him in Foxboro through 2023, Davis is signed through 2022, and Slater has one year left on his current deal. Matthew is a key part of the Patriots dynasty both on and off the field. The true locker room and spiritual leader of the squad. Those intangibles are nearly impossible to replace but something tells me that Slater will hang them up and retire after this season. He seems focused on his family, faith, and life after football too much to not walk away with his health on his on terms. A lock for the Patriots Hall of Fame no doubt. With that being said, Slater has earned the right to keep signing one-year deals with the Patriots until he says otherwise.

Justin Bethel is one of the more underrated players in the NFL. The duo of Slater and Bethel is a nightmare for opposing special teams coaches. Add in Jake Bailey and this trio very well could be the best punting unit ever assembled. Davis showed some promise last year prior to his rib injury and I expect to see him elevate his game next season.

What we need:

With Slater (turning 36), Bethel (turning 31), and Davis (turning 32) all on the second half of their careers the Patriots will look to restock on Special Teams Aces. No coach in the NFL values the art of special teams more than the Dark Lord Belichick. This will be a late round draft pick or UDFA who comes in and probably sits on the Practice Squad for a year before he really contributes. Good chance this person could also find themselves with the “Foxboro Flu” and end up on season ending IR prior to cutdown day. Either way expect this person to most likely have a redshirt year in 2021. 

The Patriots could also look to play Joejuan Williams more in the gunner role as he saw increased snaps on special teams in 2020 due to injuries.

Draft Options:

There are 3 main prospects and one bonus prospect. I lean towards Avery Williams as being the Patriots’ guy due to his impressive career at Boise State, position versatility, and high ceiling. Spend an early 6th rounder to get him.

Avery Williams (CB) – 7th Round – Boise State

Coverage and return ability. 9 career special teams touchdowns. Good mechanics. Leader both on and off the field. Workhorse and tough. Safety, Corner, Running back flex, and special teams capability. Undersized and draws excessive penalties.

Racey McMath (WR) – 7th Round/UDFA – LSU

Athletic build, good speed, plays through contact, only two career drops, blocks well. Stuck behind an impressive list of LSU WRs so Racey used special teams to get on the field. Made 6 tackles and 1 forced fumble playing gunner. Speed, size, and power combination made him a special teams threat. Good work ethic. Has slot potential but does not project primarily as an NFL WR. Below average production when on the field as a WR. Star potential as an NFL Gunner.

Robert Rochell (CB) – 4th Round Grade – Central Arkansas

While Rochell will not be a special teams only player his entire career it could help him see action early on. This could be a great depth piece while we have Gilmore and Jackson this year then assuming one of them walks during free agency next season the Patriots have Rochell to slide in.

Great mix of speed and size. Nice footwork, instinct, and reaction time. Smart player that plays to his advantages. Great utilization of long arms. Jumps in on run support. Needs to add build to his body. Struggles with hip timing. Bites on initial route. Lack of top competition. NFL athleticism.

*Bonus Prospect* – Miller Forristall (TE) – UDFA Grade – Alabama

Miller was his high school’s quarterback until a guy named Trevor Lawrence came along and then Forristall flipped to TE. Miller struggled to put up great numbers while at Bama but played all four years that he was healthy mainly as a blocker. For his career he totaled 44 recs for 505 yards and 5 TDs. He is an above average blocker with a high compete level. I could see the trust between Saban and Belichick getting Forristall a camp invite where he sticks on the practice squad during 2021. His projected role would be a blocking TE, special teams contributor, and hybrid flex.