New England Patriots: Braxton Berrios will receive baptism by fire

With the four game suspension to Julian Edelman and departure of Danny Amendola in free agency, New England Patriots rookie Braxton Berrios will be needed right away

We all had to know the New England Patriots were going to have their eyes on Miami receiver Braxton Berrios during the scouting process. He fits their system perfectly as he’s a small receiver who excels in the slot and on intermediate routes.

That’s been the game plan for years with the Pats. First it was Wes Welker that defenses couldn’t cover in this role as he frustrated opponents for years.

Julian Edelman came next, and he took the role to new heights. He became quarterback Tom Brady’s favorite target and was considered one of the biggest threats in the game.

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Their offense looked to be in trouble in 2017 when Edelman tore his ACL, but then Danny Amendola stepped in for him and made sure their offense stayed on track.

With Amendola heading to the Miami Dolphins in free agency, the Pats targeted Berrios as his replacement. Not only could he help as a slot receiver, but he can take over on punt returns ‚— which was a part of Amendola’s job.

He may need to take over for more than that though.

With word breaking that Edelman is suspended for the first four games of the season, Berrios won’t have the luxury of easing into the offense. The Patriots are going to need him to be ready right away and they won’t hesitate to give the rookie sixth-round pick a baptism by fire.

Don’t be surprised though if he steps up to the task. Berrios made a huge jump in his final season with the Hurricanes and finished with 55 receptions for 679 yards and nine touchdowns. This came after having just 12 receptions in each of the two previous seasons.

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He did enough work that year to go from a little-known player to one on the defending champs radar. He could now be a huge cog in their offense. We all knew he was going to be targeted by the Patriots, we just didn’t know how early they could start depending on him.