Through their first seven games of the 2019 season, the New England Patriots are demolishing opposing offenses at a level we’ve never seen before in the modern NFL. It’s the primary reason Bill Belichick’s team stands at 7-0, with what looks like a very clear path to yet another Super Bowl berth.
But when New England faces better and more challenging defenses in the postseason, a glaring issue on the other side of the ball was likely to surface. Due to injury and attrition, Tom Brady’s receiving corps has been less than impressive this season. Not that Brady can’t go far into a season with average targets — it happened a lot before the Randy Moss and Rob Gronkowski eras — but when your quarterback is 42 years old and his offensive line isn’t exactly what it used to be, you want to give him as many short and intermediate opportunities as possible in the passing game.
Josh Gordon has been out since Week 6 with a knee injury. First-round rookie N’Keal Harry just came off IR and hasn’t taken a regular-season snap. He’s not eligible to play until Week 9 at the earliest. Julian Edelman has been dealing with chest and rib injuries for a while. Phillip Dorsett has hamstring issues. Edelman is New England’s only receiver with more than 20 catches on the season, with 45 for 496 yards and two touchdowns. This was fine in years when Gronkowski was around to pick up the slack, but that’s no longer a possibility.
Thus, the trade of a 2020 second-round pick to the Falcons for receiver Mohamed Sanu, yet another Rutgers alum who will play under the Patriots shield. Selected by the Bengals in the third round of the 2012 draft, Sanu has amassed 377 career catches on 562 targets for 4,300 yards and 25 touchdowns. He’s also run the ball 40 times for 215 yards and two touchdowns, and completed seven of eight passes in his career for 233 yards, four touchdowns, and a career passer rating of 158.3 — which is the highest passer rating one can have in the NFL. Sanu’s career yards per catch rate of 11.4 tells the story of a guy who’s more of a possession receiver with potential to make things happen after the catch than a vertical threat, and that has proven to be the case. However, Belichick has had his eye on Sanu for a long time.
“He’s big. He’s tough. He’s got great hands,” Belichick said of Sanu in the week leading up to Super Bowl LI, in which New England overcame an infamous 28-3 deficit to win the only overtime Super Bowl. “Tremendous hands. He has a great catch radius. He catches everything. He’s a tough blocker, hard to tackle. He’s an explosive player.”
Sanu had just two catches for 25 yards in that game, but Belichick didn’t forget the player, or his positive appraisal. As ESPN’s Adam Schefter pointed out, the Patriots tried to trade for Sanu before the 2019 draft. It’s no coincidence that the team selected Harry after that attempt. At 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Harry is a slightly stockier version of Sanu, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 215 pounds. Neither player is a speed burner designed to beat safeties downfield on post and seam routes, but both players can pick up major yards after the catch, understand how to manipulate coverage to get open in short areas, and can work out of the slot or outside.
This season, Sanu has been the Falcons’ most targeted slot receiver by far, with 233 slot snaps, 32 targets, 26 catches, 257 yards, and a touchdown, per Pro Football Focus. But that doesn’t mean you can’t use him as an outside guy.
Here’s a 44-yard touchdown against the Panthers in Week 16 of the 2018 season, Sanu (No. 12) lines up wide right in a 2×2 set and runs a deep crosser with Calvin Ridley (No. 18) against the Panthers’ three-deep zone. When Julio Jones (No. 11) takes cornerback James Bradberry (No. 24) out of the picture with a deep seam route, Sanu has free space to catch and run because defensive back Captain Munnerlyn (No. 41) is late to transition from intermediate responsibility.
Sanu also can create openings outside with precise movement, though the play below did not end ideally for the Falcons. Here, Sanu is aligned outside left, and he extends coverage over the top with his simple cut inside. Sanu would have had an easy reception, but Matt Ryan couldn’t time it up, and cornerback Sidney Jones (No. 22) comes up with the ball after linebacker Duke Riley (No. 42) blows Sanu up. The Patriots use these kind of short and intermediate timing routes all the time, and given Sanu’s understanding of the subtleties of such concepts, expect to see him as a major cog in that part of the passing game. And Brady has proven to be a fairly decent anticipation thrower.
And on the following 28-yard reception against the Titans this season, watch how Sanu moves past Tennessee’s linebacker drops and deep safety coverage. Again, he has an innate feel for openings, and he adds toughness after the catch.
I loved the 11-yard catch below against the Colts. Here, Sanu loops around hook/curl defender E.J. Speed (No. 45), and pinballs his way through the middle of Indianapolis’ defense. Once again, he displays a great feel for the opening, and where the ball will be thrown.
And about those touchdown passes? Here’s a 51-yarder to Julio Jones against the Buccaneers in 2017. New England loves to run receiver trick passes, and you can imagine Sanu’s fit in that particular area.
One may wonder why the Patriots gave up a second-round pick for a receiver who’s never logged a 1,000-yard season. It’s a fair question, but given Belichick’s stated admiration for the player, the oppressive need at the position, and the imperative not to waste an all-time defense at the broken altar of a middling receiving corps, the move makes all kinds of sense.
