Pats upgrade in fantasy, too
BC: Everyone said, “Bill Belichick doesn’t do free agency.”
Then came Monday. Weather forecasters are more accurate than Belichick-watchers.
The New England Patriots were a fantasy football void last year. You had singlegame flashes from guys — Julian Edelman‘s entire 2020 season was basically one game. Cam Newton … if you had to play Cam in fantasy, you must have been in a 24team league. His rushing TDs were great. The junior high passing yards and TDs and interceptions were not.
A 7-9 record doesn’t yield a ton of fantasy stats that will help you. And while Bill B. has none given for fantasy players, he is fully aware that his team needed an upgrade across the board at offensive positions.
Tight end? Check! I thought the Pats were on to something last year with third-round twin TEs Dalton Keene and Devin Asiasi.
Turns out they were: on to the replacements. Keene and Asiasi will be scout team guys this year, if they’re here at all, after the Pats got the two best TE free agents available in Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith. It’s Rob Gronkowski–Aaron Hernandez 2.0, minus the unsavory parts.
Henry is a fellow Razorback (WPS!), and at Arkansas he was a force. He’s big, a good blocker, and has great hands. Smith is just entering his prime and might be better than Henry when all is said and done. Just two fantastic additions. Take both of them in fantasy next year.
Wide receiver? Check! Enter Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor.
Agholor was money in Vegas last year … 48 catches for 896 yards and 8 TDs. He averaged 18.7 yards per catch, second in the league. The Patriots desperately need a field-stretcher. With Bourne, now maybe they have two. And don’t forget that Jakobi Meyers can only get better without having too much pressure on him to produce.
Bourne’s numbers don’t jump off the page (49667-2), but remember that the mostly injured Jimmy Garoppolo had a worse passer rating than C.J. Beathard and Nick Mullens was the de facto “guy” for the Niners last year. Hard to succeed with a bad QB. Oh, wait …
AI: Just call him Big Baller Bill.
“Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all.” Think Cam knew something when he gave out that nickname? Did Joe Biden add some extra zeros to Belichick’s stimulus check or something?
First: OT Trent Brown —a move overshadowed by Belichick’s spending spree. Brown is a blindside protector extraordinaire. Cam’s protection went skyrocketing, which, as we saw last season, he desperately needs.
Bringing back the two-TE set, with the two best FA tight ends available … come on. A+ to Belichick on this.
On defense — they take rival Dolphin and run-stuffing D lineman NT Davon Godchaux, as well as Ravens pass-rusher Matthew Judon.
The Judon acquisition further points toward trading away Stephon Gilmore,
which isn’t new news whatsoever, but that move only further validates this speculation.
Plus — Kyle Van Noy is back. Talk about a stacked defensive squad. (It’s still too soon to talk about Patrick Chung’s retirement. I’m not crying, you’re crying.)
A few big question marks loom.
No. 1: Gilmore will most likely be traded. The question is where, and what will the Patriots get for him?
No. 2: What in the world is going on with N’Keal Harry? Getting rid of this dead WR weight would be smart. The fact that there’s at least seven teams interested in Harry blows my mind. He has 45 catches for 414 yards and four touchdowns on his career. Normally the Patriots are the ones that can take guys and turn them around in the production department. So if they can’t get the job done — I don’t know who can.
No. 3: The Patriots are reportedly looking at Tampa RB Leonard Fournette; the Bucs are reportedly after James White — putting Tom Brady in the middle of a custody battle. Sweet Feet will always have my heart, but getting Fournette would be smart.
No. 4: Quarterback … To Patriots Nation unhappy with the thought of starting Newton again after 2020, I have one question: Who did he have for weapons? Do you think it’s fair to put the blame solely on Newton? I don’t want a Garrapolo homecoming — he’s injury prone, and his 2020 stats are not far behind Newton’s.
Go after Alabama QB Mac Jones at 15 (if he doesn’t go at nine), and Cam can coach him up for a few years. New England needs to find its future quarterback. Jones would fit into the Patriots system well from what we saw in his college career. He mirrors Brady in his fundamentals — a classic pocket passer. The Heisman Trophy finalist’s nation-leading 76.5 completion percentage helped him shoot up on the draft boards. Plus, he ranks first all-time in his average yards per attempt — at 11.2.
If Jones isn’t there at 15, the next best bet is Trey Lance from North Dakota State.
In 2019 he led his squad to the FCS national title. He threw 28 TDs with no picks and rushed for 1,150 yards on 177 carries, breaking 40 tackles. Some say he’s like a young Cam. But Lance may go in the top 10 given the competitive market for quarterbacks.
Bruce, thoughts on quarterback and the draft? You could also make the argument for drafting a WR in the first round.
BC: Responding: Fournette’s washed, Give Harry another year.
I see a max of four QBs taken ahead of the No. 15 pick. Jacksonville (1), Carolina (8), Denver (9). I don’t think it’s a given the Jets give up on Sam Darnold with the second pick. Doesn’t totally matter. When was the last time the Jets did something right? Teams might be a little leery about Lance, who is raw, untested. Kinda like Josh Allen or Carson Wentz. If he falls all the way to 15, he’ll be the guy.