Five Patriots to Watch in Training Camp

16 days away and the excitement for training camp is building! At this point, it’s best to take final inventory of the most critical areas of focus because once you get to the fields with 90 guys running around it can be overwhelming.

We know that the core of this Patriots team has been to four of the last six Super Bowls and if they stay healthy there’s no reason to think they won’t be right back in their ninth-straight AFC Championship.

Life without Gronk will take some getting used to and replacing two of the top three offensive tackles won’t help. But by December they should have it all figured out even if there’s some bumps in the road.

Who are the players that could bring something new and exciting to the team this year? Here’s where my eyes when camp starts.

Matt Lacosse

It will be impossible not to have a close eye on Lacosse who at this point is the only hope at tight end. I recently went back and looked at some of his snaps with the Broncos last year and there wasn’t a ton to get excited about. He has good length but is not going to do much damage blocking in the run game. He’s at his best in the slot but his hands are up and down. Stretching the seam is probably the only part of Gronk he can come close to replacing. How will the Pats get by in Septemeber at tight end is unknown.

The Left Tackle

This includes Isaiah Wynn, Cole Croston and rookie Yodney Cajuste, if not Joe Thuney (gulp). Even Cedrick Lang and Tyree St. Louis could get looks as a third blocking tackle. At least two of these guys are going to make the roster and play a lot. If Wynn is healthy and doesn’t start the year on PUP it will be an excellent way to start camp off. This is simply a huge positional question mark and no matter who’s there will have my attention.

Braxton Berrios

Yes, the Patriots have a lot of exciting question marks at wide receiver and I can’t wait to see what N’Keal Harry looks like, but I think the biggest long term key for the offense is finding an eventual Edelman replacement. Harry will be a versatile and immediate threat and if Berrios can join him in the slot it would be a nice boost. Beating out vets Maurice Harris and Dontrelle Inman is no easy task. One of them could steal this spotlight quickly.

Obi Melifonwu

Similar to Berrios-Edelman, it would be great to see Melifonwu do some of what Patrick Chung has done. He has better length and could open camp seeing a lot of action if Chung is still on the sidelines, and played with the starters in minicamp. A versatile strong safety has been the centerpiece of four AFC Championships in five years. The Patriots have been fortunate Chung has been so durable in his second stint when injuries stunted his growth the first time around.

Jamie Collins

I loved watching Collins play and was disappointed to see him dumped in the middle of the 2016 season. Now that he’s back it will be exciting to see him back out there with Hightower and now, gasp, Kyle Van Noy. Those three linebackers should be devastating on passing downs this year. Will Collins role be different this time around? Well, he did a little of everything last time so I think we’ll see the same thing now. It’s just nice to have our weirdo ninja linebacker back.