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Countdown to Kickoff: Profile on New England Patriots No. 83 Martellus Bennett

By Dan Schmelzer

Nov 9, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Martellus Bennett (83) gestures as he runs off the field following a 22-19 win over the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 9, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Martellus Bennett (83) gestures as he runs off the field following a 22-19 win over the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Countdown to Kickoff series continues on with a look at New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett, who will be looking to make a significant impact in his first year with the team.

There are exactly 83 days until the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers open up the 2016 NFL regular season with a Super Bowl rematch. In the meantime, we at NFL Spin Zone are going to profile a player each day as we countdown the days to kickoff.

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The Countdown to Kickoff series began with a look at No. 99 Joey Bosa and has continued on everyday since (check out all of the posts here).

There were plenty of strong choices to profile at number 83, including Willie Snead, Vincent Jackson and Dwayne Allen, but it was dynamic tight end Martellus Bennett in a new place that stood out as the obvious choice.

For the low price of a fourth- to sixth-round pick swap, the New England Patriots acquired Bennett in a trade from the Chicago Bears. Bennett had worn out his welcome in Chicago as a perceived issue in the locker room, but he is one of the most skilled receiving tight ends in the entire NFL.

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The 6’6″, 275-pound Bennett is an absolute monster in the middle of the field who has an extremely well-rounded skill-set at the tight end position. Bennett caught 53 passes for 439 yards and three touchdowns in only 11 games last season.

In 2014, when Bennett was completely healthy for the Bears all season long, he brought in 90 receptions for 916 yards and six touchdowns and was selected to the Pro Bowl. Bennett is truly one of the top tight ends in the NFL and an absolute match-up nightmare in the middle of the field.

Now, not only will teams have to figure out someway to defend Rob Gronkowski who is arguably the most dominant offensive player in the game, they must find a way to stop Bennett who blends incredible size with an impressive natural skill-set.

Bennett is an extremely fast player who also shows great lateral quickness for a man of his size. He is too fast to be defended by a big linebacker and too strong and powerful to be covered by a smaller and quicker defensive back.

Sound familiar, Patriots’ fans? That is the exact kind of issue that opposing teams have with defending Gronkowski. They double and triple-team Gronkowski to try to keep him under-control, but it will be difficult to do that to both Gronk and Bennett.

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It is easy to see the dilemma that opposing teams are going to have with Gronkowski and Bennett as match-up nightmares who are incredibly difficult to defend in man-to-man coverage. Then, if teams insist on taking away the tight ends, Julian Edelman and company at wide receiver are going to dominate.

Tom Brady is going to have a field day with these major options in the passing game.

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