Aaron Dobson is not the receiver that everyone wants him to be.
He's not necessarily a vertical threat, despite having 4.43 speed and his work from the slot is limited because he's not physical enough to shake off the defender in a short area - in fact he hasn't shown much separation at all - but what he can do, and what he may do better than any other receiver in this rookie class, is work the sidelines.
Dobson is a horizontal threat, and if used as such could become as productive as his potential suggests.
With the status of top wide out Danny Amendola perpetually up in the air, many a panic button has been mashed by Patriots' Nation since witnessing his heroic effort in the season opener, returning from a groin tweak to put on a circus act in the fourth quarter of the Patriots 23-21 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
New England coach Bill Belichick went out and plucked Amendola right off the free agent market the second it was legal to do so - or so the story goes - because he can do it all, run every route on the tree and is a terrific downfield blocker, and is obviously country tough - but there's a limit as to what the human body can endure...
When you strain a groin muscle, it affects the way you sleep, the way you sit and the way you walk - and forget about running, because every running step you take is like taking a glancing blow off your wedding tackle - so when we saw New England Patriots' wide receiver Danny Amendola come up lame in the end zone after aggravating an existing groin injury, it was a cringe-worthy moment...
...not just because we all know that pain, though that's part of it - but because here was Amendola, a talented receiver picked up in free agency whose injury history reads like an Evil Knievel biography, in his first game with New England, and he's already living up to the reputation of breaking like cheap glass.
So you take the good with the bad - same with the crop of receivers that he had behind him on the depth chart - like Dobson. At 6' 3" and with some sick body control and sticky fingers, he's bigger and faster than Brandon Lloyd, last season's tight rope walker, and actually looks for yards after the catch.
Had Dobson played last week, it may well have been him on the receiving end of those sideline throws that Kenbrell Thompkins couldn't finish on, and also at the back of the end zone.
Thompkins is your possession receiver that suffered through a rough debut in Buffalo, manhandled by the Bills' corners, disrupting and cutting off his routes at times - Brady looking toward Amendola or Edelman when it was winning time - so we can't be sure of his status with Brady, we just know that Brady needs Thompkins to make plays, and needs to show more awareness of where he is on the field.
The 25 year old rookie out of Cincinnati is neither fast nor illusive - but he is quick, with rare lateral agility and surgical cuts on his routes, and his first three steps off the line are as sharp as you'd like - when he puts all of that together with his sure hands and explosiveness, he will be dangerous in the intermediate routes and up the seam...
...and then there's Josh Boyce - greased lightning for sure, though it hasn't been taken advantage of thus far. Most of the time he receives the ball in the flat and tries to win in space, but he hasn't been able to bust one out yet. At his best, Boyce cranks out of the slot and takes his man to the flag, putting those 4.34 wheels to use - his electric speed taking at least one man deep.
Boyce is the key to forcing the defense to defend the entire field and softening up the defense for the running game. Out of the slot or lined up wide, if Brady can connect deep early, the Jets' defense will be forced to play Brady's game.
Who knows? It could be the start of something beautiful in Foxborough.
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