Tag: Patriots Roster

What Will the Patriots Roster Look Like?

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We are now five days away from the deadline for NFL teams to cut down to 53 man rosters. Came at us fast huh? Yikes. With a shorter training camp and no preseason, evaluating players had to of been a lot harder this year, not to mention the fact that the beginning of the season should be a gigantic shitshow.

As websites of our ilk are want to do, I figured I’d take a crack at breaking down what the Patriots’ 53 man roster might look like, based on rumblings and grumblings I’ve heard from the the various media actually allowed to attend camp. The Patriots in particular are kind of a bitch to predict given they play so positionlessly in some areas. But here goes nothing.

OFFENSE
Quarterbacks (3)
Keep: Cam Newton (QB1), Jarrett Stidham, Brian Hoyer
Cut: Brian Lewerke

No shockers here. If reports are accurate Cam is really starting to run away with the QB1 job. Not just because of his passing either. He has obvious superiority when it comes to athleticism and the energy he brings to the offense, I’m told, is palpable. Stidham gets another year to learn and Hoyer can stand in as old reliable.

Running Backs (4)
Keep: Damien Harris, Rex Burkhead, James White, Sony Michel
Cut: J.J Taylor

Word out of camp is we could see Harris picking up a lot more carries this year. I’ll be fine with that as it takes the load off Blanco and allows him to be the de facto 2nd or 3rd option in the receiving game. Sony Michel, whichever version, will start the season splitting carries with Harris while Burkhead can fill in wherever needed

Fullback (1)
Keep: Jakob Johnson

I have half a mind to doubt myself in keeping a Fullback. That said the Pats run game statistically fell off a cliff without a FB last year and Johnson by all reports has played really well this camp.

Tight Ends (2)
Keep: Devin Asiasi, Dalton Keene
Cut: Ryan Izzo, Jake Burt, Paul Quessenberry, Rashad Berry, Paul Butler

This seems strange for me to even write but I think Belichick may go full “fuck it” and roll the rookies out there. Camp is so hard to judge on its own merits, but Asiasi has looked like the receiving threat we didn’t know existed when we drafted him and both youngbloods have looked good blocking. Thus we reach the end of the line for Izzo.

Wide Receivers (6)
Keep: Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry, Mohammed Sanu, Jakobi Meyers, Gunnar, Olszewski, Damiere Byrd
Cut: Isaiah Zuber, Devin Ross, Jeff Thomas

Probably not a ton of surprise here. Harry has apparently looked great this camp, adapting his college game of just snatching shit out of the air with zero separation to the pros. Gunnar, they say, now looks more like a WR than an interesting project. Sanu gets a chance to prove he doesn’t suck. Meyers gets to prove he wasn’t a one year preseason wonder.

Offensive Lineman (9)
Keep: David Andrews, Yodny Cajuste,  Jermaine Eluemunor, Shaq Mason, Joe Thuney, Isaiah Wynn,Michael Onwenu, Tyler Gauthier, Korey Cunningham
Cut: Ben Braden, Hijalte Froholdt, Justin Herron,

A lot of this is guess work. My first six, whether they start or not, I think are shoe ins. After that I’m not too sure. An example of this is whether they’ll keep Cunningham, a veteran backup Tackle from last year’s squad,  or 6th round pick Herron. I went with Cunningham.

Defense

Defensive Tackles (4)
Keep: Adam Butler, Lawrence Guy, Byron Cowart, Beau Allen
Cut: Bill Murray, Xavier Williams, Nick Thurman, Michael Barnett

Guy and Butler are locks and things get interesting after that. The Pats kept Cowart around so that should count for something. They have an old nemesis in Allen that they have a history of keeping around.

Edge Players (6)
Keep: Chase Winovich, John Simon, Afernee Jennings, Derek Rivers, Shalique Calhoun, Deatrich Wise Jr.
Cut: Tashawn Bowers, Brandon Copeland

This is sooooo goddam tricky. Tne Patriots front seven should be considered its own state of matter. Wise and Calhoun stay for now as reports are that Josh Uche is getting a lot of looks as a MLB of all things. Jennings is listed off the edge here even though I think he’ll play a swiss army, elephant backer role akin to Hightower- If not now than in the future. One could argue Wise Jr. is also now a DT but whatttever.

Linebacker (3)
Keep: Ja’Whaun Bentley, Josh Uche, Cassh Maluia
Cut: Terez Hall, De’Jon Harris

Again, some are listing Uche as a rusher but he’s getting a lot of looks inside. Maluia should see a lot of snaps this year as well. Bentley gets to prove he’s the next Boogeyman.

Cornerbacks (6)
Keep: J.McCourty, Stephon Gilmore, J.C Jackson, Jonathan Jones, Joejuan Williams, Justin Bethel
Cut: Michael Jackson, Myles Bryant, D’Angelo Ross

I actually wouldn’t be surprised if Williams was cut, although he should get another year. Jackson looked good on the field last year but has been torched a bit this camp. Jonathan Jones was a pleasant surprise in coverage last year. JMac and Gilmore are the 1-2. Bethel gets stashed for his S/T expertise.

Safeties (5)
Keep: D.McCourty, Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips, Terrance Brooks, Cody Davis
Cut: N/A

The Pats have a group of one Pro Bowler, a few solid players, and two unknowns at Safety this year. Dugger was the surprise second rounder out of the DII rankings. He has received positive reviews this camp though. My onion with him has been this: We play a ton of man. Tight Ends are all the rage so teams are drafting big ass safeties (basically small LBers, called “moneybacks”) to cover them. If all a first year guy has to do is “go cover that big ass tight end” it should be easy enough to see what we have.

Specialists (4)
Kicker: Justin Rohrwasser,
Punter: Ryan Allen
Special Teams Ace/WR: Matthew Slater
Long Snapper: Joe Cardona
Cut: Nick Folk

I just cannot see Bill Belichick quitting on a 5th round pick with a big leg. Everything else is obvious.

Offense:  25
Defense: 24
Specialists: 4
Total: 53

 

Joey B. and Mattes Chop It Up About the Patriots’ Chopping Block

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Joey B: Ok Mattes, here we are.

To kick this off. Who do you see, Good performance or not, off the Pats roster after this game?

Mattes: Brian Hoyer. While a lot of people may be averse to placing so much confidence in the preseason play of a rookie QB, the fact is that Jarrett Stidham has looked pretty sharp. This is also a kid who was once viewed as a first- or second-round pick before a “down” season at Auburn last year. And above all, there are too many other depth questions at other positions throughout the roster to keep three QBs – something, by the way, that Belichick has done only TWICE in the past decade. It would just be straight foolish. I’d much rather keep an extra WR or DL than keep a mediocre-at-best backup QB who may never even need to see the field. I’d actually be pretty pissed if they do keep Hoyer. There’s no reason for him to be here anymore.

Joey B:  Agreed 100% on Hoyer. My only caveat would be I could see them keeping until after final cuts, which gives him less of a chance of getting snatched up right away and us a better chance of resigning him should something to Stidham or….I’m not saying his name.

I personally think it’s curtains for Duke Dawson. Despite his size and balls skills he just never has been able to actually cover anyone. Much like your stance on Hoyer, why keep an extra player here when we could use depth somewhere else.

You mentioned the WR group. Give me your 5 and 6 man versions of our corps after this week. Who stays and who goes?

Mattes: I agree; I don’t expect them to cut Hoyer tomorrow. In fact, I could see them trying to trade him to someone first. (Maybe the Colts?? I mean, they already have one former Pats backup QB, so why not another?) And I totally agree on Dawson, too. He was a real talented kid coming out of Florida, but injuries set him back pretty far, and there is just too much talent and depth at the corner position otherwise. Especially with guys like Jonathan Jones and Keion Crossen (one of my guys I said to watch in camp this year) playing so well – not to mention rookie JoeJuan Williams – I just don’t see how Dawson makes the final cut.

My prediction for the final group at wide receiver is as follows: Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, N’Keal Harry, Phillip Dorsett, Jakobi Meyers, and Demaryius Thomas. Some may be surprised to see Thomas, who just got back onto the field this week, make the roster, but apparently the team loves him. He’s a great veteran influence in a very young/inexperienced group outside of Jules, and I think they want to see if the former perennial Pro Bowler still has something left in the tank before cutting bait. Also, people might be shocked to see Berrios not make the cut. To be honest, though, he really hasn’t done much to stand out this summer, and there are even reports that he’s struggled mightily in terms of getting past coverage and muscling through defenders in practice. He’s displayed some solid punt-return ability, but to this point he’s not really proven why he’s any more special than any other “slot guy with potential” throughout the league. Hopefully the Pats get lucky and can slide him to the practice squad, because there’s some potential there. But I don’t think he’s quite NFL ready yet.

Joey B: No arguments here, I don’t think Berrios makes it either. He just hasn’t panned out plain and simple. Also, am I wrong in remembering he has actually muffed a punt or two aside from his decent returning resume so far?

The only threat to Thomas might be Gunner Olszewski. the team seems high on the kid and he has that “scrappiness” they like. If they don’t keep him then definitely expect them to try and stash him on the practice squad.

The other overload of players I see us having is on the D-Line. Any surprising stayers or goers there?

Mattes: I just can’t see Olszewski making the cut. He’s a cool story, but he’s a flash in the pan. Maybe he’s another one who can sneak onto the P-squad or something.

And there aren’t really any big surprise cuts that I’m expecting. I would’ve said Duron Harmon, because while he has been a solid role player in the secondary for years, I think he’s hit his ceiling and perhaps the staff might’ve been willing to try and get some more young talent on the roster. Further, I think newcomer Terrence Brooks has already won the staff over, and he’s a special teams stud. However, with the whole Pat Chung situation, I think Harmon is pretty much a lock to make the team now.

One surprise roster “make,” though, is DT Byron Cowart. Cowart is a former five-star recruit who the team drafted in the fifth round out of Maryland this year. Due to being misused by the coaching staff and other “issues,” he slipped a bit in the draft, but he has been a monster this summer. He really broke out against the Titans in the second preseason game, and scouts around the league are saying the Pats might have nabbed one of the biggest steals of the draft with him. Especially after the team cut bait with Mike Pennel last week, I’m excited to see what this Cowart kid could do with this opportunity.

Joey B: Hmm Harmon would be a surprise. He’s just always been rock solid and I think between him and the snaps J.McCourty has seen at Safety the Pats have any Chung absence covered. I can’t see them entrusting a newcomer like Brooks with the magnitude of Chung’s role.

Cowart has indeed been a stud. He might take Derek Rivers spot which is kind of a shame considering his promise coming out.

I kicked this thought around with Friend Of The Blog, Patty B., but I think Phillip Dorsett could be a surprise cut. I have no tangible evidence to support this, but Dorsett has always been a “one or two big plays” guy rather than a steady presence and so I wouldn’t be completely shocked if the Pats lets him go in favor of one of the young guns. I hope not though.

Either way things are going to get interesting over the next week. Hold onto ya butts.