Numbers finally being doled out to the New England Patriots rookies signals the end of their first lap through the mad genius curriculum of coach Bill Belichick. However, it also signifies the first significant test of their young careers: The bright lights and pressure of preseason football.
Hold onto your seats, ladies and gentlemen, football returns on Thursday night.
This could be one of those rare seasons where a Tom Brady-led team is heavily dependent on the emergence of first-year players, especially with wideout Josh Gordon’s status still being up in the air.
Super Bowl LIII MVP Julian Edelman is also recovering from a broken thumb, and former five-time Pro Bowler Demaryius Thomas, who was signed in the offseason, hasn’t come off the PUP list for an Achilles injury, leaving plenty of repetitions on the field for one of the young receivers to earn a roster spot.
Things are a bit more iron-clad on the defensive side, which could legitimately be the strength of the team in the 2019 season.
Here are 6 intriguing rookies to watch in tonight’s preseason meeting with the Lions.
N’Keal Harry
There’s no sense in beating around the bush.
Being a historical draft selection for Belichick instantly vaults Harry to the top of the list of players to watch, assuming he actually suits up and steps onto the field. He was limited at practice on Tuesday after tweaking his hamstring, although he did return to participate in a shorts and shells walkthrough on Wednesday.
On Thursday morning, it was revealed that he would be donning No. 10 on his jersey with the Patriots, which is interesting considering that’s the same number Gordon wore last season.
There likely aren’t any hidden agendas here by Belichick, but it is somewhat reflective of the extensive role the team is hoping their first-round draft pick plays for them, particularly if Gordon doesn’t return.
After a slow start to training camp, Harry is beginning to come on and make some of the ridiculous acrobatic plays he was known for at Arizona State. Any additional help outside of Edelman would be huge for a Patriots team still working to transition to the post-Rob Gronkowski era.
Joejuan Williams
Rookie second-round draft pick Joejuan Williams faces plenty of competition for snaps at cornerback, but there are few players across the league that can match up with his 6-foot-4, 211-pound frame. He obviously needs to continue working on his technique, which is the case for all young players, but the sky being the limit is a cliché that actually works here.
There have been lofty comparisons to future Hall of Fame players such as Richard Sherman thrown around when evaluating Williams. That isn’t to suggest he’s going to step right onto the field and immediately morph into another lockdown corner across from All-Pro Stephon Gilmore. Those statements are more of an evaluation of Williams’ overall potential, if he continues to trend upwards.
It’ll be interesting to see how well he performs in game action on Thursday, which should offer up plenty of opportunities if Gilmore sits. Last year’s breakout player, former undrafted free agent J.C. Jackson, still looks to have the inside track on Williams for a job with the first-team unit.
Damien Harris
What’s better than one sledgehammer in the offensive backfield?
Two sledgehammers, of course.
The rich getting richer feels like the perfect way to phrase former Alabama running back Damien Harris somehow falling into the Patriots’ lap in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Josh Jacobs got all of the hype coming out of college, but there is no question Harris was the bell cow of Saban’s offense. He rushed for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons before Jacobs started eating more into his snaps in his senior year.
With Sony Michel’s long injury history, Harris’ mere presence gives the Patriots a solid insurance plan, while also adding another versatile change-of-pace option to the deepest running back corps in the league.
Chase Winovich
It’s a shame we never got to see Gronkowski and Patriots rookie defensive end Chase Winovich play on the same team. It would have been dude-bro heaven seeing the two react on a daily basis. Winovich can’t do much for Brady’s offense, but he can do plenty for Belichick’s surging defense.
Making inline blockers whiff and quarterbacks tap-dance appears to be his specialty.
He’s a wild man on the football field with a motor that never seems to run on empty. Even though the Patriots are only in the first preseason week, he has been showing up in the offensive backfield often with plays that probably would have resulted in sacks.
Imagine if he takes flight earlier than expected to go along with three-time Pro Bowler Michael Bennett and Deatrich Wise Jr. It could be a long season for opposing quarterbacks.
Jakobi Meyers
Jakobi Meyers, an undrafted quarterback-turned-receiver out of North Carolina State, is one of the best stories heading into the season. He has seemingly emerged out of nowhere as a go-to option for Brady in recent practices.
We’ll see how that translates in game action.
There is no doubt Meyers’ time as a quarterback has helped with his rapid adjustment to the Patriots’ complex offense. He has clearly looked like the best receiver on the field at times during practice, which has aided in him earning first-team reps with Brady.
He’ll have a shot at attempting to make backup quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham look equally as good on Thursday night.
Jarrett Stidham
Make way for the conspiracy theorists if rookie quarterback Jarrett Stidham puts together a great preseason performance. It’s becoming a yearly ritual of Belichick taking a flyer on some young quarterback and seeing if he sticks as the eventual successor to Brady. The only time one of Belichick’s darts stuck to the board was when the team acquired Jimmy Garoppolo back in 2014.
Garoppolo is now making more money than Brady as the starter for the San Francisco 49ers, and the Patriots are once again starting from scratch with fourth-round pick Jarrett Stidham.
Brady will eventually get to see some exhibition time on the field, but the preseason will primarily be about the backups. Stidham will especially be highlighted considering the Patriots have yet to tap into his ceiling as a player. If he puts things together well on the field, the old wheels could begin turning in Belichick’s noggin regarding the team’s future at quarterback.
Is Stidham the heir to the throne or simply another soon-to-be journeyman on a brief pit-stop through Foxborough?
