New England Patriots: How Brandon LaFell return will clearly make offense best in NFL

By Kevin Parvizi | Oct 16, 2015

There is little doubt that the New England Patriots offense has been as good as ever this season, and only the Arizona Cardinals and Cincinnati Bengals are averaging more yards per play than Bill Belichick’s squad. The crazy thing is that they’re technically doing it short-handed, because they’ve been missing “X” receiver Brandon LaFell, who played a huge role in the offense last season with over 70 receptions, who has been on the PUP list with an offseason foot injury.

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LaFell is eligible to face off against the rival New York Jets and elite cornerback Darrelle Revis in Week 7, and it looks like we should expect him to be out there. The Patriots will get to feast on the Indianapolis Colts before this showdown against one of the NFL’s most dominant defenses.

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ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss reported last week that LaFell is “on schedule” and was actually observed working out prior to the Patriots 30-6 blowout win over Brandon Weeden and the reeling Dallas Cowboys. If they can come in second in the NFL with a whopping 37.2 points per game without LaFell, then you can only imagine how prolific this offense will be with their best outside receiver back in the mix.

LaFell isn’t as important to the Patriots offense as Julian Edelman or Rob Gronkowski, and you could even argue that rising star Dion Lewis has become an even more valuable piece to Tom Brady and the offense. However, having a No. 1 receiver who can win on the outside and boss contested catch situations is huge, and that’s not even factoring in LaFell’s run blocking, which is a hugely underrated asset that I’m sure Belichick and the running backs appreciate.

Remember, LaFell had 74 catches for 953 yards and seven touchdowns last season, averaging 12.9 yards per reception. Given that he had 17.0 and 15.4 yards per reception in back-to-back seasons early in his career with the Carolina Panthers, LaFell is both a red zone weapon and a potential field-stretcher on the outside, and those are two things that could help put the Patriots offense over-the-top.

If you look at the spread of Brady’s passes, he’s mostly been targeting the same few players. Edelman, Gronk, and Lewis have a whopping 47, 33, and 30 targets to lead the team, and Danny Amendola and Aaron Dobson are fourth and fifth with 13 and 12 targets, respectively.

LaFell’s average of 59.6 receiving yards per game last season would make him the Patriots third-most productive pass-catcher here in 2015, as Lewis is currently third on the team in yards per game with an impressive 59.5 average. On an offense that is built on quickly diagnosing weaknesses and spreading the field horizontally, having a unique option like LaFell will make the Patriots unfairly balanced.

Not only are they running the ball effectively with LeGarrette Blount and Lewis, but they’ll now be able to throw long speed and brute strength into the mix, in addition to the short-area quickness that Lewis, Edelman, and Amendola have provided this team.

Brady leads the NFL with a 121.5 QB Rating, and he still hasn’t thrown an interception despite leading his team to a 4-0 record so far. His 8.7 yards per pass attempt and 11 touchdowns are as impressive as it gets, and the Patriots offense will be the best in the NFL once LaFell comes back.

His work will come in handy against that physical Jets secondary, and he’ll give Lewis, Edelman, and others even more freedom over the middle of the field.

When the Patriots played the Buffalo Bills, we watched young “X” receiver Aaron Dobson blow up for seven catches for 87 yards on eight targets. Dobson has been a bit player in every other game, turning in an ineffective performance against the Jaguars with just one reception for five yards on three targets before being inactive against Dallas. So you can only imagine how much better off the Pats will be with LaFell, who averaged a solid 8.0 yards per target last season.

Dec 28, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Brandon LaFell (19) against the Buffalo Bills in the first half at Gillette Stadium. Buffalo Bills defeated the Patriots 17-9. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Without LaFell, the Patriots have the second-highest scoring offense in the league, the third-most net yards per pass attempt, and the most first downs.

LaFell’s positive effect on the running game via his run blocking, the attention he’ll command from defenses, and his ability to stretch the field (only Gronk had a higher YPR last season, by the way) is yet another positive that is different from the more obvious- and more direct- benefits that he’ll give to the passing attack.

Although he isn’t a star player by any means, LaFell is one of the better receivers in the NFL, and we all saw just how much he helped the offense last season in his first year in Foxboro.

74 catches is a lot of production to get back on the field, and, again, LaFell was efficient, and the Patriots offense is the clear favorite to be the best in the NFL this season with him back.

The Patriots offense is all about options, so having their best outside target, their second-best red zone weapon, their second-best field-stretcher, and their third-best passing option overall is a benefit that is difficult to overstate with the knowledge of how Brady operates.

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