The New England Patriots will play their first official game of the 2019 season on Thursday night when they face the Detroit Lions on the road in their preseason opener.
Week 1 of the preseason will be our first opportunity to evaluate some of the new and young talent on New England’s roster, which will allow us to see their ability in real-game scenarios.
With Tom Brady reportedly sitting out the contest, along with what will likely be some other veterans, it gives players who are deeper on the depth chart their first opportunity to fight for their roster spot in a game.
There are certain position battles that have created much competition in training camp thus far, which will now get to play out in a real game.
Here are three position battles to look out for during the Patriots’ preseason opener.
1. Wide Receiver
For what was supposed to be a thin position group heading into training camp, the wide receivers have been everything but that in training camp so far. Outside of Julian Edelman (PUP) and N’Keal Harry, two players who are locks to make the final 53-man roster, there has been a fierce battle between three or four wideouts on New England’s roster.
Veteran wideouts Phillip Dorsett and Maurice Harris, second-year receiver Braxton Berrios and undrafted free agent Jakobi Myers all have had their fair share of excellent moments in camp, with Berrios trailing the other two because of his inability to consistently get separation from defensive backs.
The three of them will now get to extend their lead or fall behind a position that will have Demaryius Thomas coming back this season from a torn Achilles, and potentially Josh Gordon, who recently filed for reinstatement from his indefinite suspension.
New England signed Cameron Meredith on Monday, so he will play a factor as well when he fully recovers from his knee injury. Not to mention Dontrelle Inman, newly-converted receiver Danny Etling, Gunner Olszewski, Ryan Davis, and Damoun Patterson, all who could very well impress throughout the next three weeks of camp and find themselves on the regular-season roster. Keep an eye on the wideouts, no matter who is playing quarterback throughout the game for the Patriots on Thursday night.
2. Defensive end (opposite of Michael Bennett)
It seems that there is an open competition for the starting defensive end spot opposite of veteran defensive lineman, Michael Bennett. Deatrich Wise was the assumed starter heading into this year after the Patriots not only lost Trey Flowers (Lions) to free agency but also Adrian Clayborn (Falcons), a player who was in New England’s defensive line rotation during the 2018 regular and postseason.
However, Chase Winovich, a third-round pick for New England in 2019. has come on strong early on in training camp, which has him impressing media member as well as making a case for first-team reps. Derek Rivers has also had a strong camp, which could possibly turn this starting job into a three-headed race.
Winovich will have to stand out Thursday night vs. Detroit if he wants to earn reps with the starting unit going forward. If he can do that, and neither Wise nor Rivers provide any examples of why they should be a starter, then we could see Winovich becoming a regular part of the 1st-team defense much earlier than we anticipated.
Let’s see if the former Wolverine can grab one or two sacks against the Lions.
3. Backup Quarterback
Brian Hoyer was Tom Brady’s backup from 2009 to 2011 and then continued that role from 2017 until now. But he may be in jeopardy of losing his role as the backup quarterback this season because of New England’s fourth-round pick this year, quarterback Jarrett Stidham. The former Auburn standout has quickly grasped concepts in camp thus far, which has resulted in a few strong showings for him in practices and has made him one of the quietest rising stars on the team.
Hoyer could be in jeopardy of losing his entire roster spot if Etling can prove to be a dual-threat at receiver and quarterback. This makes the backup quarterback competition actually worth watching in New England for the first time since Jimmy Garoppolo was a rookie.
If Stidham wants to hold off Hoyer, he will need to have a strong preseason on top of his already-strong training camp. Get ready for them to duke it out against Matt Patricia’s defense first.
