In 2018, the New England Patriots receiving core was, quite frankly, a mess. This was widely agreed upon. With Julian Edelman’s suspension, Josh Gordon’s wild ride, and a wildly inconsistent cast of Cordarelle Patterson, Chris Hogan, and Phillip Dorsett, the Patriots relied heavily on their dominant offensive line to create holes in the running game.
Recently, a debate has risen in the holy texts of Twitter. A debate about whether the retooled receivers of the Patriots will even be an upgrade over the 2018 group. I’m going to break down why the 2019-2020 Patriots receivers (as they currently stand) are, quite frankly, a clear upgrade over the 2018-2019 group.
Let’s keep things simple to start. Julian Edelman, some say, is just another year older, and he will only get slower. I disagree. Edelman is now a full two years removed from a torn ACL, an injury that can be absolutely devastating. While it’s true he’s getting older, I also believe that his knee getting healthier will offset the aging. Are we going to see the dominant Edelman we saw in 2014 and 2015 (prior to injury)? Unfortunately, that Julian Edelman is probably gone for good. But Edelman was a reliable chain mover in 2018, and had he played 16 games, he was on pace for 1133 yards. He topped it all off with an MVP performance against the Rams (although if you ask me, the Patriots collective offensive line deserved the reward). The point, however, is not to argue who should have been Super Bowl MVP, but to say this: Edelman will be, at worst, as good as he was in 2018. And I personally think that he could do even better this year.
Up next is Demaryius Thomas. DT had a rocky 2018, getting traded midseason to Houston and then tearing his Achilles. The injury frightens me, no doubt. I doubt he’ll ever be the top 10 receiver he was during his prime in Denver. But I ask this honestly: can he be any worse than Chris Hogan was in 2018? Phillip Dorsett? Cordarelle Patterson? I don’t mean to say that they didn’t have their moments, but neither of those players consistently created separation, or made tough catches, or did particularly well as receivers (I say as receivers because Patterson brought value as a returner and overall Swiss Army knife). Now, it’s entirely possible that Thomas gets released before the season begins. But based on the heavily incentive laden terms of his contract, I’m willing to bet that the Patriots still think he can be productive. I definitely think that he will miss games to start the season due to his injury (per James Palmer on Twitter, Thomas is expected to be ready before most believe, so we’ll see), but when he returns, I do think he provides significantly more upside than Chris Hogan.
N’Keal Harry was a surprise at the end of the first round, but one Patriots fans very much welcomed. Bill Belichick doesn’t typically spend high draft picks on receivers, but he did this year, and I think that’s a sign that not only does he believe in Harry, but he recognized that, quite frankly, his receiver room STINKS. From his play on the field, Harry definitely evokes excitement. At 6’2” 228 pounds, he brings good size to the table, and he’s a very physical receiver who can bring in contested catches and who uses his body and hands very well when the ball is in the air. He’s also extremely good after the catch – surprising given his physical stature, but very welcome in the Patriots offense. The big knock on Harry is that he doesn’t separate well, but I think this isn’t as big an issue as people think. With Julian Edelman and Demaryius Thomas in the room, Harry has two mentors who can help him learn the nuances of route running and improve the only weakness in his game. I think Harry will be a very good contributor to this team, not only in year one, but for years to come.
The biggest concern with this team is Josh Gordon. Gordon is a polarizing talent, a guy who breathed life into your offense in 2018, and who is a giant question mark for 2019. I’m not sure what will happen, truthfully, but even if he doesn’t play, I think the additions of Harry and Thomas help offset his loss significantly. True, neither Harry nor Thomas will be as good as Gordon was last year, but I believe that having three starting caliber receivers that you can roll out in Edelman, Thomas, and Harry still makes your group much better in 2019 than it was in 2018, when you were forced to roll out Edelman, Gordon, and Hogan – and that was in the 11 games Gordon played. Gordon is a giant X-factor, but one that I think you can live without now that you’ve added more depth and quality to your receiving room.
Now, we reach the tail end of the room. Patterson and Hogan are gone. Dorsett is still here. Braxton Berrios will have his chance to battle it out for a spot on the roster, and I think that he can definitely carve out a roster spot based on his play in college. Dontrelle Inman was recently signed, and I personally think that he brings you more dependable depth than Chris Hogan did in 2018. Inman is nothing special, but he’s a solid receiver who has shown the ability to be a good target with the Chargers. I also really like UDFA Jakobi Meyers out of NC State. Meyers was pegged as a sleeper by many, and with all the hype he generated, I was surprised to see him go undrafted. While fellow UDFA Xavier Ubosi also has potential, I think that Meyers will make some noise throughout training camp and preseason, and ultimately end up on the final 53-man roster. Meyers excites me a ton.
Overall, I like the Patriots receiver room in 2019. Edelman, Thomas, and Harry excite me as a very solid top three receivers, should Thomas suffer no setbacks from his injury, and with the potential of Josh Gordon returning, Phillip Dorsett developing, or a potential gem like Berrios, Ubosi, or Meyers making noise, this group to me has infinitely more upside than the 2018 group did, and most importantly, I think they’ll be able to be effective against anyone in the NFL. The biggest knock on the 2018 group was their inability to separate against good man coverage, and I think the 2019 team will be a lot better in that regard.
One point you will note that I didn’t address is the tight end room. Rob Gronkowski is a giant loss – this can’t be ignored. But for the majority of 2018, Gronk was a shell of himself as a receiver, too slow to be reliable, but still useful. I think the Patriots will miss him a lot more as a blocker than they will as a receiver given his state in 2018. I also think that Austin Seferian-Jenkins is an intriguing addition. At 6’5”, he’s a giant matchup problem, and while he hasn’t done much at the NFL level, he has never played with even an above average QB. I think there’s giant potential for him to be good in New England, and I think that he and N’Keal Harry specifically can help offset the loss of the Gronk. This is not to minimize unquestionably the greatest tight end of all time – because that’s what Gronk is – but compared purely to his 2018 self, I think that the Patriots can offset that loss.
So again, I think the 2019 Patriots will have a much better receiving core than they did in 2018. And besides – they won it all in 2018 anyways because of their run game and defense, and I think they upgraded both of those units. If this receiver room is improved as much as I think it has, I think the Patriots will be a steamroller again.
Vasu's Sports Takes 