The New England Patriots are headed into a 2020 season with significant turnover on offense, and the result has been that a number of the team’s players are getting a little too much hype.
With quarterback Tom Brady leaving this offseason, the Patriots have their most important position to replace. And it’s easy to imagine the offense regressing without the greatest quarterback of all time. But Bill Belichick did his best to bring in additional talent, and New England will develop the young talent they already have on the roster.
But let’s be sure to ease expectations on some of these players. There’s too much hype surrounding some of the talent on the roster. And circumstantially, that hype is largely focused on offensive players. So here’s a look at the five most overhyped players in New England.
QB Jarrett Stidham
Stidham has always been a compelling prospect, even going back to the pre-draft process when his quarterback guru Jordan Palmer reminded me that Stidham was going largely overlooked. It feels like the opposite is the case, just 14 months later. Stidham is one of the most interesting stories in the NFL with the Patriots hoping he’ll be a starter after they drafted him in the fourth round.
But they’re not going to just give him the job. They want him to compete against and beat out Brian Hoyer. Stidham may have a harder time than people think if the training camp schedule is shortened. Stidham has always been an interesting prospect, but it’s a huge step for a quarterback to elevate from a fourth-round pick to a starting caliber quarterback.
OT Marcus Cannon
The Patriots offensive line struggled in 2019, with running back Sony Michel seeing the biggest downturn. His yards per carry dropped from 4.5 in 2018 to 3.7 in. 2019. Center was a tough spot for the Patriots, with David Andrews missing the year and Ted Karras taking over. But right tackle Cannon experienced a sizable regression last year. He has long been one of the top right tackles in the NFL, but 2019 was one of his worst seasons. Perhaps it was a flukey year. Perhaps it was a sign of decline. Either way, Cannon’s standing with the team probably isn’t where it was at the start of last year.
TE Devin Asiasi
He’s a freakish athlete whose senior season at UCLA was extremely promising with 44 receptions for 641 yards and four touchdowns. But he also dealt with a suspension in 2018, and saw just one year of production in college. (He had eight catches in college prior to his senior season.) Asiasi is slated to be the Patriots’ top tight end, but that’s not really saying much after New England boasted the worst group in the NFL last year. The truth is that Asiasi was a third-round pick for a reason. He’s no sure thing in the NFL. He may contribute in year one, but it’s probably too lofty to expect him to be a major factor in the passing game.
TE(/FB?) Dalton Keene
The thought was that Keene would play tight end in New England after being a jack-of-all trades at fullback, h-back and tight end for Virginia Tech. But that’s now starting to feel like an unfair assumption.
The question with Keene is whether the Patriots want him to someday be a Kyle Juszczyk (a.k.a. an elite pass-catching fullback) or a George Kittle (a.k.a. a versatile prospect converted into one of the league’s best tight ends). Considering New England is starting Keene in the fullback room this offseason, it’s possible they want him to be more Juszczyk than Kittle — at least in year one. But the fact that I’m comparing Keene, a third-round pick, to the best players at those two positions is a sign that I’m overhyping him. Keene is an impressive athlete who has a lot to learn about his position, whichever the Patriots choose for him.
WR Marqise Lee
The veteran has long seemed like a perfect fit for New England’s offense. Maybe he doesn’t have the burst to get open as a deep threat, but Lee has the short-area quickness that helps him get open quickly and move the chains. So with him joining the Patriots, there’s an outside chance he could crack into the starting lineup, in the event the receiver position features a number of duds (like last year). But perhaps because the position was so rough in 2019, people might be expecting too much from Lee in 2020. He’s coming off an injury, and has just two seasons of 700-yards or more.
