Patriots Camp Preview - Receivers

If Michael Jenkins makes the 53 man roster of the New England Patriots, that would be an indication that the incoming group of receivers were not as good as anyone thought they were - and if he's starting, the Patriots' passing game is in serious jeopardy.

Not that Jenkins is completely used up, but one gets the feeling that the former Falcon and Viking nicknamed Molasses Mike represents the cut line in regard to the receivers, an walking, talking amusement park sign that reads "You must be at least this good to make the team."...

The Patriots are hoping this is a familiar scene with Josh Boyce

...and with Bill Belichick bringing in oodles of young, fast new greyhounds for his receiving corps, seeing Jenkins in the starting lineup would mean that Belichick has failed miserably and may need to be censured, at the very least...

...as if that's not happening to him already in the media, as some still can't accept that Wes Welker is gone because he was stupid and believed everything his agent told him - and Belichick and Kraft did what they had to do to stop the insanity, essentially firing him... 

By the time Welker realized that his agent had misjudged his market by a wide margin and that Denver's offer was the best that was out there, the Patriots had covered their butts by signing Danny Amendola to pretty much the same as what they had offered Welker - the Patriots getting a younger, bigger and faster player with a similar skill set.

Belichick has also taken some intense heat for his vision in regard to his receivers getting in the way of common sense.  Scheme-wise, at least, there is some fairness to the scrutiny but in the actual contracting of personnel, well, he can't have Jiminy Cricket following his players around, now can he?

Harrison

 

Regardless, replacing an Aaron Hernandez, while difficult, is nowhere near impossible.  Replacing Wes Welker will be difficult, but not impossible - but maybe it's not as much a matter of replacing players than it is populating a new philosophy...

...a philosophy based on a mixture of size and intense speed - in some cases a hybrid between a tight end and a wide receiver, or between a running back and a wide receiver - the emphasis not so much on versatility, rather, quality depth with individual skill sets so that quarterback Tom Brady will be able to create mismatches at the line of scrimmage, to make the offense become anything that they need to be.

Mark Harrison's unique combination of a 6' 3", 235 pound frame and 4.46 speed make him intriguing in an H-back sort of way, splitting the seam with ease at Rutgers when coming out of the slot, and regularly separating from the defender when lined up on the outside. On the Non-football injury list at the start of camp, it is hoped he will be ready for full contact when the pads go on.

Thompkins

Harrison went undrafted after news broke that he trashed his hotel room at the combine, but is a talent of untapped potential, as is Kenbrell Thompkins, who went undrafted for far more than simply trashing a hotel room. 

Thompkin's story has been well documented, the street punk leaving the criminal life behind and turning it all around - and his performances in OTAs drawing raves and much knee jerk excitement, but the fact is that his less than nominal speed relegates him to a possession type role.  If he can impress in camp, there may be a roster spot waiting for him or even a place on the practice squad for the developmental project.

Aiken

Kamar Aiken has been around for a few years, but there just hasn't been a fit for the 6' 2", 215 pound Central Florida product - but with the entire receiving corps getting an extreme makeover, Aiken and his 4.45 speed seems to be just what the offense is evolving towards, and he may just find himself catching passes on Sunday.

Josh Boyce has so much speed that it's continued on the next guy.  At 5' 11" and 205 pounds he has the size to handle significant slot reps, with some usage at flanker or outside the numbers.  Seriously fast at 4.34, he has great physicality coming off the line and can close any cushion within his first three steps, then has video game cutting ability and an extra gear to split the safeties or to pull away from the corner.

Boyce

Boyce has the potential to be the steal of the draft.  There weren't many receivers in the draft class with his combination of strength, command of the route tree and pure speed.  He slipped to the Patriots in the fourth round solely due to a broken toe suffered just before the combine, and there were concerns that it hadn't had time to heal, but he wasn't placed on any PUP lists, so he'll be good to go for contact.

Aaron Dobson isn't as fast as Boyce - few people are - but his intrigue comes in his size and unbelievable hand eye coordination.  At 6' 3" and possessing mad hops and sticky fingers, Dobson is very much a vertical threat that the Patriots have been lacking since - well - since another former University of Marshall alumnus roamed the Gillette Stadium confines, and may well turn into the gem of this receiving corps.

Dobson

Danny Amendola figures as a starter on one side, and with better size and speed than the person that many are looking at him as a replacement for, he is in fact much, much more.  Younger and more explosive than Welker ever was, he will see his time in the slot as well.

Amendola doesn't have blazing speed, but he is a master at finding the hole in a zone coming out of the slot or separating from the corner when lined up on the outside, and he can take a hit, but his slight build does make for some concern, so it's probably a given that he'll remain outside the numbers for the majority of snaps.

Amendola

...as will lone holdover from 2012 Julian Edelman, if he ever gets to see the field.  This offseason has not been kind to Edelman, as a "clean up" procedure on his broken foot has kept him off the practice field and on the active PUP list.  When healthy, Edelman is a play-making freak with good speed, but his durability comes into question, as he missed significant time last season with concussions and a broken bone in his foot.

The longer Edelman dwells on the PUP list, the more likely it is that he will not play as significant a role with the team this season, if any role at all.

Edelman

 

At this point, it is reasonable to expect that Amendola, Dobson, Matthew Slater and Boyce are locks for the 53 man roster, (Slater being a Pro Bowl special teams ace that is a wide receiver for positional purposes only) with Aiken and Harrison being better than Jenkins until they prove they are not.

Thompkins may turn out to be a developmental practice squad type unless he really turns it up a notch in camp and Jenkins leads a group of bubble players that will probably looking for a job at the end of August.

So the question now is not so much how the Patriots are going to replace the production of their departed weapons, but how long it all takes to gel - because with the collective size and speed of this group of pass catchers, once it's on track, it's going to be very hard to derail.