AJ Derby Should Make New England Patriots Roster
By Matt LaPan
The New England Patriots have become one of the most tight end-heavy teams in the NFL in recent years. In large part, it is because they possess arguably the best player to ever play the position in Rob Gronkowski.
Related Story: 30 Greatest Tight Ends of All-Time
The addition of Martellus Bennett ahead of the 2016 season shows a recommitment to making the New England tight end group the most dominant in the NFL, but they have the ability to add even more strength to the group by selecting the right third tight end.
The group fighting for the third spot in this dominant group comes down to Clay Harbor, AJ Derby, Bear Pascoe, Bryce Williams and Steven Scheu. These five all possess different traits, but need to show complete games in order to compete in the tight end landscape. A third tight end obviously does not get many chances to impress – especially in a group with Gronkowski and Bennett – but in the Patriots’ system, they have their chance to thrive as a blocker and a receiver.
With all this in mind, AJ Derby is the player that New England should use as their third tight end entering the season. Derby has used his reps this preseason to solidify his role as the third Patriots tight end, especially following New England’s 23-22 win over the Chicago Bears in preseason action.
Derby led the Patriots in receptions and receiving yards on the game, finishing with six catches for 71 yards and the long receiving touchdown for the Patriots. His six receptions came on just seven targets, but Derby was also used in key blocking situations with the New England starters. While Derby has been proven as a less than dominating blocker, the trust from Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels is a good sign for Derby.
Not only did Derby show well in this game, he has made two very good receptions in each of his last two games – showing improvement in his hands and his ability to make plays as a primary weapon in the Patriots offense.
The first play came in the New England Patriots opening preseason action, a 34-22 win over the New Orleans Saints. Derby lines up as an inline tight end to the right of the offensive formation with Clay Harbor lined up over him, off the line to his right. This is a spot he could find himself with either Bennett or Gronkowski lined up over him in the regular season to give either tight end a cleaner release.
Derby gets a clean release off the line himself, attacking the seam on the play. He is picked up in coverage by linebacker Jeff Schoettmer. Derby shows his speed and athletic ability as he quickly gains an edge over Schoettmer, running right past him.
Derby then makes a great adjustment to a ball that quarterback Jacoby Brissett throws behind him. The throw is intentional as a safety was working over the top of Derby, but Derby still has to elevate and adjust his body to get his hands free to the ball. He catches the ball at its high point, plucking with his hands rather than letting the ball get into him. This adjustment allows him to bring down the 24-yard pass and move the chains. His adjustment shows a bit of polish that was not expected, nor was it seen at the start of training camp.
The next big play from Derby came in the Patriots’ preseason win over the Chicago Bears. Derby starts off the play split wide to quarterback Jacoby Brissett’s left – a position he could often find himself in since New England is so creative with their tight end use. He draws the coverage of linebacker Lamin Barrow.
On the snap, Derby uses his hands well to gain the sideline advantage on Barrow, creating a step of separation. This is not a difficult route, but it shows that Derby has been working on his release from the line of scrimmage during his time on injured reserve in 2015 and throughout Patriots training camp.
The ball is delivered high and to the sideline by Brissett – splitting Barrow and safety Chris Prosinski. Derby does a great job to elevate and high-point the ball, even in the face of a big hit coming from Prosinski. He plucks the ball with his hands and takes a huge hit from Prosinski, getting both feet down in bounds and securing the reception for a 26-yard gain. Not only did Derby show a good awareness of where the sideline was, he showed great hands and toughness on the play.
While the converted quarterback is not the most polished tight end, he displays the classic size of a tight end with great agility and very good speed.
More Patriots: Profile on Cyrus Jones
The New England Patriots have more money invested in Clay Harbor, but adding Derby to their depth chart will allow Garoppolo and Brady to have more options in the pass game, making the offense even more dangerous.