With the 2020 NFL season approaching, here are five of the biggest questions for the New England Patriots leading into the new year.
Although every NFL team has question marks around the team heading into a new season, perhaps a team within the league that has the most questions is the New England Patriots. There is no denying that the Patriots will look much different during the 2020 NFL season and in the years ahead after a busy offseason.
With a new quarterback set to take over the offense this year and new faces flooding some key roles throughout the depth chart in Foxborough, it will be interesting to see if Bill Belichick and the Patriots take a step back this year or if they will be able to pick things up without a beat throughout the regular season.
New England is coming off of once again claiming an AFC East title in 2019 with a record of 12-4 overall, finishing ahead of the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins in the division standings. The Patriots, however, were surprisingly bounced in the opening round of the playoffs while seeing their season end much earlier than they hoped.
In 2020, New England will have its work cut out for it to try and defend its division title and return to the playoffs at the end of the year. With the mix of new faces, the Patriots also hold the toughest schedule in the NFL this season.
In a division where they have had endless success within, resulting in multiple AFC East titles over the last few decades, other teams within the division made some strides in improving while New England arguably went in the opposite direction.
The Buffalo Bills will be much improved in 2020, most notably with the acquisition of wide receiver Stefon Diggs in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings. The New York Jets and Miami Dolphins are still somewhat in rebuilding modes and are trying to get on the upswing of that process this year, but could provide the Patriots with some headaches during the regular season schedule.
As the season inches closer and New England is set to begin the post-Brady era, let’s take a look at five of the biggest questions surrounding the Patriots leading up to the year.
5. Is 2020 the start of a rebuild?
Over the past two decades and even beyond that, the New England Patriots haven’t had to deal with the idea of possibly going through a rebuilding season or rebuilding period. In 2020, one question is if that will indeed be the case both this season and for the next few years.
Following the departure of legendary quarterback Tom Brady this offseason after he bolted from New England to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent, it is the start of a new era in New England and that could result in a rare rebuild for at least this season.
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As odd as it will be to witness Brady taking the field in a new uniform and with a new team in 2020 and beyond, what might be even weirder is the fact that the Patriots will have a new quarterback under center this season for the first time since 2000.
While the Patriots try and fend off a rebuilding period, they are going to have to try and quickly replace some key pieces on both sides of the ball and most notably at the quarterback position to find a new player to be the franchise staple moving forward.
As of now, second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham appears to be the frontrunner to replace Brady under center in New England, but there is no way of fully telling yet just how quickly he will be able to take things over or if he is indeed the quarterback of the future for the franchise.
If Stidham hits the ground running and appears to become a hidden gem that Bill Belichick and company so-often find, a rebuild might not have to be in consideration. If he does struggle and the Patriots decide they need to end up looking elsewhere at the quarterback position, a set-back season and ultimately a rebuild would be the result.
If a rebuild does happen, we could also end up seeing players such as veteran wide receiver Julian Edelman and other long-time Patriots players also leave the team before the 2020 year begins.
With a new era beginning in New England, it will be interesting to see if the Patriots can continue to plug-and-play players on the team or if this is ultimately the start of a rebuild in Foxborough and within one of the most storied franchises in the NFL.
4. Can the defense continue dominance from last year?
In past seasons, the Patriots have had their offense far outshine what they are able to do on the defensive side of the field. It’s easy to understand that, especially when Tom Brady has led things under center for the New England offensive group.
In 2019, however, the Patriots defense was their largest bright spot and was dominant throughout the entirety of the season, oftentimes overmatching opposing offenses to keep New England in games week-in and week-out.
Another question leading into the season in 2020 is if that defensive unit will be able to maintain its stellar play and once again return to the top of the league in multiple defensive categories.
Last year, New England’s defense ranked first in the NFL in total yards it allowed opposing offenses to average per game, giving up 275.9 yards per game. The Patriots also ranked first in points given up per game with 14.1, while also managing to record a league-most 25 interceptions throughout the year.
There has been a little bit of turnover on that side of the field, las has been the case with things offensively in Foxborough, but it will be important this year perhaps more than ever for the Patriots defense to once again be a top-notch group to try and continue the franchise’s annual dominance.
While New England has traditionally been a team that has been led by its ability to overpower opponents on offense and with its high-powered passing and running games, the Patriots defense could once again emerge as one of the top units in the NFL this season and could continue their dominance for at least one more year.
3. Will James White, Sony Michel have even larger roles?
Although some other portions of the New England offense have seen some turnover this offseason, one position that will look very similar when the new year begins lies at the running back spot.
As has been the case for the last few years, Patriots running back duo of James White and Sony Michel will once again headline the ground game out of the backfield in Foxborough in 2020.
In 2019, the duo of White and Michel collectively put together solid seasons both in the ground game and through the air in the passing attack for New England. This season, however, they might have to have even larger roles within the offensive gameplan.
A year ago, the Patriots ground game combined to finished with 1,703 rushing yards, which ranked 18th in the NFL. New England’s running attack finished with a total of 447 rushing attempts (ninth in the NFL) and 17 rushing touchdowns (10th in the league).
Specifically for White and Michel, both were key players both on the ground and catching the ball out of the backfield throughout the regular season, something that will likely be the case again this year.
White finished the 2019 campaign, his sixth season in the NFL and with the Patriots, with 263 rushing yards and one touchdown on 67 attempts. He was an even bigger aspect to the passing game as a running back, tallying 72 catches for 645 yards and five touchdowns.
To counter White, Michel played a larger role in the running game in his second season in the NFL and in New England last year. The running back finished with 912 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 247 carries, adding 12 catches for 94 yards in the passing game.
In 2020, a big question will be if the young pair of running backs will be able to continue to lead things on offense to help counter what the Patriots are able to do in the passing attack. If they are able to return to form, they might gain even larger roles within the offensive game plan in Foxborough.
2. Who will step up alongside Julian Edelman in passing game?
One glaring issue that grew larger and larger during the course of the 2019 campaign was the lack of talent in the passing game and specifically at wide receiver among the Patriots depth chart.
That lack of talent brings up the question of who will be able to step up in the passing attack during the 2020 season to help out veteran wide receiver Julian Edelman in the wide receiver room.
After opening up the 2019 year with an impressive receiving group consisting of wide receivers such as Edelman, Antonio Brown, Josh Gordon and Phillip Dorsett, among others, that group quickly diminished after injury issues took place and other players departed the team in the early portions of the season.
That basically left Edelman and Dorsett as the two main options for Tom Brady in the passing game, while New England was in the search for another player to step up alongside them.
During the offseason, the Patriots did little to add to the wide receiver group alongside Edelman and company, maybe hinting at the fact that they are confident in others stepping up in expanded roles in 2020 behind the consistent veteran wide receiver.
New England did sign free agent recievers Damiere Byrd and Marqise Lee this offseason to add to the group, leaving the likes of Edelman, Mohamed Sanu, N’Keal Harry, Lee, Byrd and Jakobi Meyers, among others, currently on the depth chart.
With a new quarterback set to lead the charge in 2020, it will be important for the Patriots to continue to improve their receiving core to help make that transition even easier this year and beyond.
1. Can Jarrett Stidham lead the charge?
There’s no doubting the biggest and more important question heading into the 2020 season for New England comes at the quarterback position and the future of that spot on offense.
All eyes will be on that position this year and beyond for the Patriots, who will have a new face taking over under center for the first time since 2000 following legendary quarterback Tom Brady deciding to leave the organization and sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency this offseason.
Although there are currently two options at quarterback that lie within New England’s roster, that being second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham and veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer, the early favorite leading into the year to land the starting role under center is Stidham.
Unless the Patriots ultimately decide to go out in free agency before the regular season begins to bring in another quarterback onto the depth chart to fight for the starting spot, Stidham could have a big opportunity to step up on offense to try and lead New England in 2020 and perhaps into the future.
Bill Belichick and company appear to be very high on the almost 24-year-old quarterback who was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Auburn. Stidham, who was a backup during his rookie campaign last year behind Brady, appeared in a total of three games during the year while going 2-for-4 with 14 yards passing and one interception.
If Stidham ends up winning that competition over Hoyer or potentially others at quarterback this season, he will have the opportunity to showcase his talents and attempt to lead the charge of an offense that has seen a large amount of turnover during the offseason.
But the biggest question is if the young quarterback will be able to indeed lead the charge in the now Brady-less era in Foxborough.