Breaking down the New England Patriots roster after final cuts this weekend.
The New England Patriots made it through the 2020 NFL cut day on Saturday with a few surprises. While their roster does seem to need some changes and tweaking, the Patriots do now have a 53-man roster for the time being. Every NFL roster is fluid and often changes on a week-to-week basis. The Patriots are sure to do the same but we can still evaluate how the team looks thus far.
On offense, success will have to be led by Cam Newton and the running game. The team kept their fullback Jakob Johnson as well as ten offensive linemen. Look for the Patriots to lean on Johnson and the offensive line at least for the early portion of the season.
The offensive line was solid in training camp, but it’s hard to tell when the team is only competing against each other every day. They at least have plenty of bodies for depth which will be important considering the injury history for some of the players, including Isaiah Wynn.
Newton is still getting used to the offense and the passing game and the receiving options look like there could be issues. The team will need help from the offensive line to help propel the running game.
The receiving options behind Julian Edelman and running back James White are, at best, inexperienced. N’Keal Harry is going into a very important second season since he will be counted on to be the team’s number two receiver and there are no clear safety net options if he fails.
Damiere Byrd shows speed, but he only has 44 receptions in four NFL seasons which means he is hardly a safe bet. Behind him are Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski, but they are formally undrafted free agents and failed to establish themselves as rookies last season.
The team will have to hope rookie tight ends Dalton Keene and Devin Asiasi develop quickly or the passing game may be in real trouble. Otherwise, the team may have to depend on Newton to help inject some juice into the offense with his ability to run the ball. This may become a necessity as the team suddenly has questions at the running back position.
Lamar Miller didn’t survive the roster cuts and Damien Harris will begin the season on injured reserve. Harris looked to be having a good training camp and was looked at to take a step forward this season. Sony Michel is still recovering from offseason foot surgery, but he now will be counted on to hit the ground running.
The New England Patriots defense will have to prop up the offense early on.
Defensively, things look much better. Although some of their players are unproven, the team has enough to lean on to let the inexperienced players get their feet wet. The secondary will still be a major strength for the defense. The cornerbacks, headed by Stephon Gilmore, are perhaps one of the deepest cornerback groups in the NFL. Gilmore and J.C. Jackson are a formidable duo and will be counted on to lock down opposing receivers.
The safeties also look talented as the team did not make any surprising cuts at this position. Even without Patrick Chung, the safety group looks talented and will have Adrian Phillips and Terrence Brooks competing to take Chung’s role. This will give rookie Kyle Dugger a chance to play in certain packages rather than having to be counted on in a full-time role right away.
In the front seven, the Patriots are lacking at the middle linebacker position, but they are strong with their edge players. John Simon will be counted on to be his usual steady self and Chase Winovich is looking to take extra playing time to build on his five and a half sacks of last season. Winovich was able to produce those sacks with only a 29 percent snap count last season and the team is hoping for more this year.
Behind Simon and Winovich are Deatrich Wise Jr. and Derek Rivers. Both had good training camps, but Rivers has yet to stay healthy in the NFL and Wise has been underwhelming since his rookie season. If there are injuries or ineffectiveness for Simon or Winovich, the team could be in trouble.
At defensive tackle, there are concerns especially with Beau Allen now officially placed on IR. Lawrence Guy has been good since he came to New England but the other interior linemen will need to take big steps forward.
Adam Butler has continued to improve but he may be asked to play a three-down role this season and this would be a first for him. There’s no way to know how he’ll respond. Byron Cowart is the only other interior lineman on the active roster and he is still a bit of an unknown in his second season.
The linebackers have a lot of questions as there is nothing but inexperience with this group. Ja’Whaun Bentley will try to fill in as the defensive signal-caller and one of the team’s defensive captains, but he has only played in 19 games with only four starts. Brandon Copeland is the most experienced linebacker but this is his first year with the team.
Rookies Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings had some impressive moments during the training camp, but they are rookies playing a complicated defense for linebackers to pick up quickly. Add this to learning the speed of the NFL game and there are sure to be growing pains.
The Patriots have some nice pieces to their roster, but as of right now, the team still has plenty of question marks.
First of all, the team still does not have a kicker. The offense looks like it will be shaky at best with a dependence on Cam Newton and Julian Edelman. Look to see a steady dosage of throws to James White again too. On defense, the talent is there, but we still do not know if some of the players can play well consistently and also if they can all play well together. It should be an interesting season, to say the least.