Looking at the Patriots - 2021

You might want to wait until you have more than 9 posts to start throwing grenades.

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You might want to refrain from going after people over number of post. Seeing as most of your post are little more than worshiping at the alter of Brady.
 
In the days leading to training camp, we'll look at each of the positions and how things could play out this summer. Today's snapshot looks at the running back position.

 
The Patriots’ offensive line is one of the strengths heading into the 2021 season and is on paper, easily a top 10 and arguably a top 5 unit.
Despite losing a legend with Dante Scarnecchia’s retirement as offensive line coach, the unit was well-coached in 2020 by Cole Popovich and Carmen Bricillo.

So, let’s take a brief snapshot of the position and see who stays, who goes, and who is on the bubble as the team begins training camp in 2021. It has a nice blend of established veterans, young players on the upswing, and team leaders who are looked to set the tone.

The depth is so great that the team lost one of the best guards in the NFL in Joe Thuney in free agency and traded a long-time very solid right tackle Marcus Cannon and they probably won’t miss a beat.

 
The Patriots’ offensive line is one of the strengths heading into the 2021 season and is on paper, easily a top 10 and arguably a top 5 unit.
Despite losing a legend with Dante Scarnecchia’s retirement as offensive line coach, the unit was well-coached in 2020 by Cole Popovich and Carmen Bricillo.

So, let’s take a brief snapshot of the position and see who stays, who goes, and who is on the bubble as the team begins training camp in 2021. It has a nice blend of established veterans, young players on the upswing, and team leaders who are looked to set the tone.

The depth is so great that the team lost one of the best guards in the NFL in Joe Thuney in free agency and traded a long-time very solid right tackle Marcus Cannon and they probably won’t miss a beat.


This kid is already a beast among men. Wow!

"Michael Onwenu was an absolute steal in the 2020 NFL Draft. Selected in the 6th round, (182nd overall), he was viewed as a bubble, developmental prospect. That was blown out of the water right off the bat in his rookie season.

He played like a veteran and a versatile one in 2020 and logged in starts at both guard positions and at right tackle, which speaks volumes about his upside. He will be tasked with replacing the outstanding Thuney at left guard, but as we’ve seen already if injuries begin to pile up, he has the versatility to move around. "
 
Training camp is right around the corner and Mac Jones is the future at QB, but the present may still belong to Cam Newton. Read on in our QB Primer on PatsFans.com

 
The future of the running backs, here is that Harris, Stevenson, and Taylor are going to be the big three

This is how I see it as well, for the top three.

Only difference overall is I would really like them to keep Michel as well. He is inexpensive backup insurance for a Damien Harris injury. I would keep him and cut Bolden as was done two years ago. We have a LOT of really good STers.
 
Training camp is right around the corner and Mac Jones is the future at QB, but the present may still belong to Cam Newton.

The only other question is will the team keep two QBs or three?

In early September we will finally see what BB thinks of Stidham. Right now I'm thinking three.
 
This is how I see it as well, for the top three.

Only difference overall is I would really like them to keep Michel as well. He is inexpensive backup insurance for a Damien Harris injury. I would keep him and cut Bolden as was done two years ago. We have a LOT of really good STers.

Agreed, I would really like to keep Sony and yes, special teams look pretty solid.

Bolden has a soft spot for Bill and is a performer so we'll see.
 
Locks – Andrews, Brown, Mason, Wynn, Onwenu, Herron, Karras

That is a lot of locks. I agree with the five starters and am pretty sure that Herron will beat out his competition, but don't see him as a lock. Likewise, I really like Karras, just not quite to the lock level and I also like Ferentz (thought admittedly not as much as Karras). I just need to see this play out.

The guy who currently fascinates me is Sherman. I wish they had kept 4 preseason games. I might be the only NFL fan who liked game four, but I really liked watching the young guys play.
 
So when do we get to see the WRs? I see three locks and one near-lock, but am really interested in your thoughts one #5 WR. Not Slater, BTW. I think of him as ST only.
 
This is an important topic, but it is highly politically charged. Perhaps this could be discussed in a different thread so Johnlocke can get on with the WR outlook?

Indeed. On the topic of our wide receiver competition think I this article is pretty good.

It's interesting, as so many share skills and can run different things and this offense requires them to, which is why the Pats rarely had a true number one receiver under BB. Like many other positions on this team, Hoodie asks you to be versatile and smart and that is his key to changing up his epic game plans every week depending on the opponent.

 
From PFF on 2nd year players who promise to be stars of the future

4. EDGE Josh Uche, New England Patriots


Pick in 2020 draft: No. 60
As Uche acclimated to the NFL, he slowly gained trust from coach Bill Belichick. And in the second half of the season, he finally put it all together.
.
Uche has quickness and good hands to detach from offensive linemen on pass plays and good hip movement to get around the corner. From Week 8 — when Uche was awarded his first defensive snaps of the season — until the end of the year, his 77.6 PFF grade ranked second only to Chase Young among rookie edge players. That ranked 16th overall. A full season as a starter could see him put up big numbers.

 
This is pretty darned good

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Looks alot like the art that was around when "Scary" Terry Rozier was with the C's...
 
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