The New England Patriots are heading into an extremely odd year in 2020 — for many reasons.
Tom Brady’s gone, the coronavirus pandemic has caused unprecedented circumstances and that’s just to name a couple of them. New England also lost out on key contributors his offseason with Jamie Collins, Kyle Van Noy, Danny Shelton, Elandon Roberts and of course, Brady.
For all of these reasons, it’s set up for a peculiar training camp and a lower bar for the Patriots this season. Fortunately, Bill Belichick is still the coach and he happened to collect a former NFL MVP at quarterback under the veteran minimum (Cam Newton if you were wondering).
There are many reasons to believe the Patriots can overcome this adversity and put together a winning season. Here are six strengths the Patriots have on their roster ahead of training camp.
Offensive line
The offensive line will be the most important group for the Patriots in 2020. They’ll be responsible for clearing holes for the team’s running attack, protecting a new quarterback in this system and keeping the pace going offensively in general. Before, a shaky offensive line would get covered up by the genius of Brady. Now, every mistake will be exposed.
Fortunately, the Patriots carry one of the best offensive lines heading into the season. The group features Isaiah Wynn, Joe Thuney, David Andrews, Shaq Mason and Marcus Cannon. They have the ability to excel as pass and run-blockers and will be fundamental in the team’s success — health is the only concern.
The Patriots will likely have a run-heavy scheme that relies on great defense and clock management. This season will boil down to the trenches and Belichick is heading into the season with the right pieces in play.
Cornerbacks
Similar to the offensive line, the Patriots will head into the 2020 season with arguably the best group of cornerbacks. The 2019 Defensive Player of the Year, Stephon Gilmore, will head the group. Jason McCourty, J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones and Joejaun Williams will be his counterparts.
New England allowed the second-least passing yards last season (2,886) and recorded the most interceptions (25) — with 12 coming from cornerbacks. Gilmore was named a Pro Bowler and First-Team All-Pro for the second consecutive season and he only allowed one touchdown on the year.
Jackson is entering his third season and is ascending as one of the league’s top cornerbacks, while Jones remains elite as a slot cover guy. The Patriots have one of the best cornerback crews in the NFL and it’ll allow for maximum flexibility for Belichick.
Special teams
Spearheaded by Matthew Slater, the Patriots’ special teams unit has remained elite in the past decade. Belichick added a core player in Justin Bethel last season, who earned three Pro Bowl nods as a special teamer. Second-year punter Jake Bailey proved to quickly ascend as one of the league’s best and the Patriots signed two safeties in Adrian Phillips and Cody Davis that’ll make an impact this season.
The Patriots have long snapper Joe Cardona entering his sixth season with the team and running back Brandon Bolden as a key contributor. New England’s problematic areas come at the coaching position and at kicker — where they lost both. Former special teams coach Joe Judge took a head coaching job with the New York Giants and long-time kicker Stephen Gostkowski was released.
New England confidently drafted Justin Rohrwasser in the fifth round and they have Cam Achord to replace Judge. Both replacements don’t have the credibility of their successors, but they do have Belichick overseeing them.
Barring injury, the Patriots are set up for another elite season with their special teams unit.
Fullbacks
The fullback position turned into an absolute nightmare last season. James Develin played two games and went down with a season-ending neck injury — leading to playing time for undrafted free agent Jakob Johnson. Johnson played in four games and went down with an injury himself, leaving linebacker Elandon Roberts as the primary option.
Develin retired this offseason and the Patriots signed free agent Danny Vitale, who played most recently for the Green Bay Packers. Vitale is heading into his fifth season in the league and his 6-foot, 240 pound frame gives him a major advantage in the trenches. He also recorded 135 receptions, 1,427 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns in college.
The Patriots have Vitale and Johnson on the roster currently and they both are full of youth. Vitale is the perfect replacement for Develin and he’ll help New England get their running game back in order.
Safeties
Similar to the cornerback group, the safeties will have one of the strongest units for the Patriots this season. Devin McCourty is the leader and he’s followed by Patrick Chung — both have spent 10 seasons in New England. Newly-signed safety Phillips and the highly-drafted rookie Kyle Dugger will spend some time on the field as well.
New England has a leg up on other highly-skilled safety groups because of McCourty and Chung’s experience. They both have three Super Bowl victories and the ability to be mentors on the field. Dugger was the Patriots’ first pick in the draft this offseason and he has pure talent that will need to be refined.
The combination of New England’s safeties and cornerbacks leads to one of the most knowledgable, skilled groups in the league.
Running backs
New England’s running back corps is one of the deepest groups on the team. Sony Michel and James White will lead the way, with Rex Burkhead and Damien Harris following right behind. Michel and White will be the workhorses primarily and they compliment each other’s games perfectly with hard-nose running and finesse.
As aforementioned, the Patriots will enter the season with one of the best offensive lines and a solid fullback group. Without Brady, they’ll rely on the rush attack and they have all the tools necessary to pound the rock at a high clip. Vitale will lead the way and it’ll make things much easier on whomever starts at quarterback.
New England’s rushing attack should be on another level this season and it’ll be a perfect compliment to keep the defense off the field.
