Those expecting quarterback Tom Brady to retire, Bill Belichick to suddenly forget how to coach and the New England Patriots to be served its comeuppance after years of dominance should consider changing the channel and tuning out the 2019 NFL season. They’ll be back and loaded with more talent than we’ve seen in years, fueling the possibility for some truly under-the-radar players to make an impact.
For opposing coaches, it’s the faces they don’t know that keep them up at night.
The Patriots have long been the destination team for journeymen, aged veterans and presumed draft busts to prove their NFL worth and become household names. It’s the secret sauce that has led to six Super Bowl wins, nine conference championships and 16 division titles in less than 20 years, and it’s the reason the Patriots will have a shot at repeating as champions.
Cue the collective eye rolls and exaggerated sighs from opposing fans headed into another season that is sure to present us with some major contributors no one saw coming. Here are five more potential stars that could be churned out of the ceaseless Patriots machine in 2019.
Damien Harris, RB
The former Alabama running back isn’t joining the Patriots to merely take a backseat to the other trio of backs in Sony Michel, James White and Rex Burkhead. There was a reason why the Patriots reached for another sledgehammer in the offensive backfield, despite the depth currently in place at the position.
Michel missed several games his rookie year due to injuries sustained before and during the season. There were several times when the Patriots were even forced to plug gadget receiver Cordarrelle Patterson in at tailback to try and simulate the power-running attack they lost with Michel being out.
Brady and the rest of the offense thrived on their ability to be balanced rather than leaning heavily on one-dimensional, pass-heavy schemes. Harris gives them an added layer of protection to ensure that philosophy remains in place if another catastrophic injury hits. However, even with Michel healthy and eating up the majority of the snaps, Harris should still see part of the grunt work with Burkhead to help keep the Patriots’ featured back fresh.
Maurice Harris, WR
Former undrafted receiver Maurice Harris fits the mold of another overlooked player that somehow snuck through the cracks and ended up in Belichick’s lap. By all accounts, Harris had one of the more impressive showings at the Patriots’ spring practices.
Granted, none of the players had on pads during the practice sessions, but there was obviously some magic happening in the slot courtesy of the former Washington Redskin. He was like a human magnet on the field, and the football seemed to travel to him wherever he went.
The Patriots already have enough big bodies manning the outside with the team drafting N’Keal Harry in the first round and veteran wideout Demaryius Thomas signing on in April. Not to mention the potential return of former All-Pro receiver Josh Gordon is still a possibility.
What the Patriots lacked was depth behind Brady’s favorite target, Super Bowl LIII MVP Julian Edelman. Harris appeared in 12 games for the Redskins in 2018 and hauled in 28 catches for 304 yards. He seemed to finally be catching on in his third year in the league, and the Patriots could be the team to reap the reward for rolling the dice on him ahead of a potential breakout season.
Jamie Collins, LB
Jamie Collins is a face few thought they’d ever see wearing a Patriots helmet again, and yet, there he was standing on the spring practice field like it was 2015 again. That was the year before he was traded to the Cleveland Browns and went into the sunken place. It was the year when was selected for his first Pro Bowl and received Second-team All-Pro honors.
And then it was over.
Collins signed a multi-year deal with the Browns that never panned out, and he was ultimately released after the team failed to deal him before the trade deadline. It was as if the world suddenly forgot he was one of the most feared linebackers in the league.
Fast forward to 2019 and Collins is back in a Patriots uniform and blowing up plays like he did in the past. Belichick is a master at putting players in the best possible position to maximize what they do well, and after the spring practices, there is no question he has big plans for the hybrid linebacker that can drop into pass coverage as well as pinning his ears back and breaking into the offensive backfield.
Derek Rivers, DE
The feel-good story on this list would be a year of redemption for defensive end Derek Rivers. This is his second year removed from the torn ACL that ruined his rookie season. So it would be fair to treat the 2018 season as Rivers’ rookie year, while giving him an opportunity to show off the second-year leap we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from young players at this level.
Despite being a third-round draft pick, Rivers was actually the Patriots’ first pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, which has strangely heaped first-round pressure on him to perform.
Most would even consider this a make-or-break kind of year for the former Youngstown State standout. The defensive end depth chart has expanded with the Patriots signing former three-time Pro Bowler Michael Bennett and drafting the human equivalent of the Energizer Bunny in Chase Winovich.
Another quiet season from Rivers could be his last in a Patriots uniform.
Ja’Whaun Bentley, LB
Linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley might have been one of the biggest steals of the 2018 NFL Draft. Of course, you wouldn’t know that since he spent most of his rookie season watching from the sidelines with a torn bicep. However, there were clear signs early in the season that Belichick struck gold with this fifth-round draft pick.
The Patriots coach even trusted him to wear the green dot on his helmet as the defensive signal caller. That’s a huge accolade for a player that nearly went undrafted.
Bentley worked his way onto the field as a starter rather quickly and fit in perfectly with the likes of Dont’a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy. A second year in the Patriots’ defensive system could yield monstrous results for the former Purdue Boilermaker.
He was already back on the field in spring practice picking up where he left off last season. The sure-handed tackles and reliable pass coverage makes him a dynamic weapon for the Patriots and another headache for opposing offenses.
