With the 2020 NFL season inching closer, here are three New England Patriots that are going to have to step up throughout the course of the year.
During the 2020 NFL season, the New England Patriots will no doubt look much different than what we have been used to seeing out of one of the most successful franchises in the league over the past two decades.
After a busy offseason that saw multiple key players depart the organization via free agency and other avenues, most notably legendary quarterback Tom Brady leaving to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency, new faces will flood both sides of the field for the Patriots this season.
New England is coming off of a 12-4 season in 2019, finishing atop the AFC East once again at the end of the year. The Patriots ultimately fell in the opening round of the AFC Playoffs, seeing their season coming to a surprising early end.
It will be interesting to see if Bill Belichick and company in Foxborough end up taking a step back this season and go through somewhat of an unfamiliar rebuilding year or if the new players taking over will be able to pick things up without missing a beat.
With multiple key players on both offense and defense leaving New England this offseason, that resulted in the Patriots bringing in some additional young prospects both in the 2020 NFL Draft and during the undrafted free agency process that now have the task of stepping into contributing roles right out of the gate.
While New England holds the toughest regular-season schedule of any team in the NFL this season, that task of stepping up will be a tough one for many players on the depth chart.
With the 2020 campaign continuing to approach, let’s take a look at three players that will have to step up for the Patriots this season and beyond in what will be an interesting year in Foxborough.
3. Sony Michel
One player that will need to step up and perform well for the New England Patriots during the 2020 NFL season is running back Sony Michel.
For the past few years, Michel and New England teammate James White have been a solid duo out of the backfield for Bill Belichick and company on the offensive side of the field. While White has been viewed somewhat as the primary running back in Foxborough, Michel has been a great compliment to him on the ground and in the passing game.
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But when it comes to Michel, consistency has been an issue he’s dealt with in his first two professional seasons after breaking in the NFL as a first-round draft pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
In his first two years in the league and with New England, Michel has appeared in 29 of the possible 32 regular-season contests, providing the Patriots with a reliable player who can remain on the field week-in and week-out. Over the course of those two seasons, the 25-year old has rushed the ball more than 200 times and for over 900 yards and six touchdowns per year, while averaging a little over 70 receiving yards through the air as well.
In 2019 during his sophomore campaign, Michel dealt with some consistency issues in New England while appearing in all 16 games during the year. Michel did manage to finish the year with a career-high 247 rush attempts and seven touchdowns, along with 912 yards on the ground. He also caught for a career-high 94 yards on 12 receptions in the passing game.
But one thing that Michel did fail to accomplish last year was being able to break the 100-yard rushing mark while some weeks finishing with totals of less than 20 yards rushing and others nearing that 100-yard mark.
That will need to change in 2020 for the Patriots to not only help the running game but also help the team while it has a new quarterback leading the offense for the first time in two decades.
2. N’Keal Harry
One player that appeared the scene a bit for the Patriots during the course of the 2019 season was rookie wide receiver N’Keal Harry, who ended up being a reliable target for quarterback Tom Brady outside of wide receiver Julian Edelman within the passing game.
The 22-year-old Harry put together an average rookie campaign last year after he was drafted by New England in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Arizona State.
With Brady and company looking for another wide receiver to step up outside of Edelman after a few other receiving options either departed the team or battled through injury issues, and that allowed Harry to get some playing time early on in his professional career.
Harry wasn’t ultimately able to play for more than half of the regular season while also dealing with injury issues, but became an option in the passing game while appearing in a total of seven games in Foxborough. The young wideout managed to finish with 12 catches on 24 total targets, along with recording 105 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Harry also ran the ball five times for a total of 49 yards on the ground.
With a new quarterback taking things over in New England during the 2020 season, Harry will be among the main core group of wide receivers that the Patriots will look to rely on during the year. Harry, Edelman and Mohamed Sanu, among others, will likely be the group who will see the most action for New England.
Edelman, if he remains with the Patriots once again this season, will no doubt be the primary target in the passing game once again in 2020, but Harry will have to put together a healthy and dominant sophomore season in New England to help out the receiving unit during the regular season.
1. Jarrett Stidham
When it comes to the most important aspect to the New England Patriots during the 2020 NFL season and the player who will need to step up the most is second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham.
For the first time since 2000, the Patriots will have a new quarterback taking things over under center in Foxborough, and the two most likely options at the position will come down to Stidham or veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer.
Although New England could end up looking on the free agent market to add another quarterback, most notably former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton who could be an intriguing option if healthy, it appears as though the Patriots are very high on Stidham and he could ultimately wind up as the starting quarterback to open the year.
Stidham, who will turn 24 years old in August, broke into the NFL during the 2019 NFL Draft after he was drafted by New England in the fourth round coming out of Auburn. As the backup to Tom Brady in 2019, Stidham appeared in a total of three games during the year while going 2-for-4 with 14 yards passing and one interception.
The storyline this offseason has been who will end up taking things over for New England as it transitions into the future at the quarterback position, but Stidham could get his shot for at least this season to try and prove to Bill Belichick and company that he could be the quarterback of the future.
There are multiple players that will need to step up for the Patriots during the 2020 campaign, but there is arguably no greater need for New England than to have Stidham step up and perform well during the regular season.