Gronk-less Patriots offense faces big questions
Regardless of any offseason departures, no matter how dire things have looked in September, the Patriots annually assemble an offense that ranks among the league’s most dangerous.
It’s automatic, really.
They’ve ranked no lower than fourth in scoring each year since 2010. That’s an absurd nine consecutive finishes inside the top five. To put that in perspective, only two other franchises cracked the top five in three consecutive seasons during that span (the Broncos at the peak of Peyton Manning’s dominance, from 2012-14, and the Saints from 2016-18).
Each Patriots offense developed an identity that differentiated itself — sometimes subtly — from the previous iterations. But for a decade, the foundation remained consistent: a balanced approach with an underrated rushing
attack and creative utilization of running backs, a slot receiver with the quickness and agility of your neighborhood rabbit (from Wes Welker to Julian Edelman to Danny Amendola), and a 6-foot-6, 265-pound menace barreling down the middle of the field.
For the first time in 10 years, the Patriots head into training camp knowing they’ll be Gronk-less.
And that changes so much for the New England offense.
How will the Pats reconfigure their approach? That’s what the next few months are about. There’s competition across the board at the skill positions. There’s uncertainty. In some ways, this is a blank slate for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who has proven to be adaptable and innovative over the years.
We don’t know exactly what the post-Gronk era will look like, but we can draw on the Patriots’ past experiences without Rob Gronkowski for possible hints.
The evidence suggests the Patriots will rely extremely heavily on Edelman.
Dating back three seasons, Edelman averaged 6.9 catches on a whopping 11.4 targets for 90.1 yards in games in which Gronkowski did not play.
Edelman’s averages with Gronkowski on the field dipped quite a bit: 6.1 receptions on 8.8 targets for 71.3 yards.