The New England Patriots clearly acknowledged they had a problem at receiver, with a huge effort to bring in talent at the position on the first day of the tampering window.
New England agreed to terms on contracts with speedster Nelson Agholor, who averaged 18.7 yards per carry in 2020, and possession receiver Kendrick Bourne, who averaged an impressive 2.8 yards of separation, per NextGen Stats tracking data. The deals can become official on March 17 when the league year opens. To make things even more wild, the Patriots added one of the best tight ends — if not the best — on the market in Jonnu Smith. Whether the Patriots start Cam Newton or someone else at quarterback, he will have a much-improved arsenal of weapons.
After finishing with the third yards per game and the fewest passing touchdowns in 2020, the Patriots wanted to do everything they could to support their 2021 quarterback(s). At this point, Newton is the favorite to start, but his deal with New England indicates the Patriots view him as a potential backup. They certainly could continue to look for another option (Looking at you, Jimmy Garoppolo, Tyrod Taylor and Jacoby Brissett).
Regardless, with Agholor to provide the big play and large group of players to attack the middle of the field and get open for intermediate passes (Smith, Bourne, Julian Edelman, Jakobi Meyers), the Patriots have a much more talented and diverse group of skill players for 2020. They won’t find themselves giving a player like Damiere Byrd a healthy number of snaps (89% of offensive snaps) while getting brutally inefficient production: 47 catches, 604 yards and one touchdown.
The only complication for New England is that they may have bought high on both players. They are coming off the best seasons of their career. It’s fair to wonder whether the Patriots might have overpaid for players who were hot commodities. And it’s fair to wonder whether they can continue that success in a complicated New England offense without a clear plan at signal-caller.
