New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Did the Jets outsmart Belichick?
NEW YORK — Bill Belichick has made a living turning nonames into contributors during the Patriots’ annoying twodecade run of dominance. Truth be told, it’s amazing how many seemingly Average Joe’s have become difference makers inside the gates of football’s Evil Empire.
But did the Jets just outsmart Belichick by picking up one of the Hoodie’s castoffs?
Could secondyear wide receiver/returner Braxton Berrios actually be, you know, really good?
The Jets claimed Berrios off waivers over the weekend when the Patriots decided to cut the cord on the 2018 sixthrounder. On the surface, it looks like Hoodie, Inc. just gave up on the 5foot9, 190pound Berrios.
Upon closer inspection, a case can be made that Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels were hoping Berrios would pass through waivers so that they could sneak him on to the practice squad.
The Patriots, after all, already have veteran wideouts Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon and Demaryius Thomas on the roster. Perhaps Belichick doesn’t believe Berrios is ready to contribute right now, but truly wanted to cultivate his talent for the future. Berrios, in case you were unaware, was viewed by some scouts as an Edelman or Wes Welker style of player once upon a time.
He broke out as a senior at the University of Miami (55 catches for 679 yards, nine touchdowns and a 15.9 yards per punt average) before suffering a pectoral muscle pull on the bench press at the Combine. The Patriots grabbed him in the sixth round before he spent his rookie year on injured reserve.
“He can be that same role that Jamison (Crowder) plays — that slot guy that can bounce around outside, inside, do a bunch of stuff,” said Sam Darnold, who was in the same lifting group as Berrios at the Combine and witnessed his injury. “Maybe even go in the backfield and runs some routes. So, kind of a jackofall trades kind of guy.”
Berrios will have an immediate role as the Jets punt returner to start the regular season. He replaced undrafted rookie Greg Dortch, who showed flashes this summer. But Berrios, who returned five punts for 46 yards for the Patriots this preseason, was viewed as a better receiving option in the slot than Dortch. He’ll essentially replace Deontay Burnett as the backup slot.
“Coming out of college, (he) was really good at getting open in the slot,” Adam Gase said. “He’s had good experience as far as punt returner goes. There’s a lot of confidence there. We were able to (evaluate him) on our Miami Day down there (with the Dolphins). He was a guy that we actually spent a little more time with. We were excited to kind of see how the draft went and see what happened there. We were in a unique position because we did have a lot of guys in the wideout spot that weren’t going anywhere (with the Dolphins). He was a guy that we were really interested in . It’ll be interesting because he was a guy we wanted to work with.”
Berrios’ snaps dwindled throughout the preseason. He played in 41 of 84 snaps (49 percent) en route to three receptions for 45 yards in the Patriots first preseason game before only taking 13 snaps in the second week. He didn’t play in the third preseason game before logging just 10 snaps in the finale.
Maybe the Patriots simply gave up on him or maybe they wanted to hide him in the final week of the preseason to increase the odds of sneaking him through to the practice squad.
Could Berrios turn into the next Edelman or Welker?
“We felt like this was a good opportunity for us,” Gase said. “It was somebody that we, especially a lot of guys on this staff that were in Miami, had a lot of exposure to in the past. Obviously, when you’re a guy that’s played in New England, it’s kind of a similar system. This is kind of a break off of what they’ve done. Just with my time with Josh (McDaniels). He’s influenced me a lot in my career as far as what we do offensively. So, when you’re a guy that’s played in that offense, there’s a fit with our offense.”
Did the Jets outsmart the Patriots?
Or will the Evil Empire get the last laugh like that they usually do?