New England Patriots: 7 vital things we still don’t know about this team

By Chad Graff11m ago

The Patriots’ last preseason game looms Friday night in Tennessee, a final chance for players on the roster bubble to make their case before the team gets cut from 90 players to 53 by Tuesday.

But while the game is important for those players, it’s also a reminder of just how close the regular season is. We’ve spent much of training camp going over what we’ve learned and what we know about this Patriots team.

But with about two weeks remaining until the Philadelphia Eagles come to town, let’s spend some time on what we don’t yet know about this year’s Pats.

Will the Pats keep six wide receivers?

Coach Bill Belichick hasn’t kept six receivers on his initial 53-man roster since 2019. But for the first time since then, the Patriots have a legitimate reason to keep six even if it comes at the expense of running back or offensive line depth.

That’s because rookie sixth-round pick Demario Douglas has been so good in training camp that he’s a virtual roster lock — and may have leapfrogged Tyquan Thornton on the depth chart.

If you assume Douglas has made the team along with newly signed Juju Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker and Thornton (for all his struggles, you don’t generally cut a second-round pick from the year before), then you’d have to release either veteran playmaker Kendrick Bourne or sixth-round rookie Kayshon Boutte to keep only five receivers.

After a great week of practices and a fine performance in Green Bay, Bourne’s spot feels safe. So it probably comes down to whether Boutte makes the team as the sixth wide receiver. At this point, the guess here is that he does.

Will they continue to run RPOs and screens this often?

Bill O’Brien’s offense so far has leaned heavily on RPOs (run-pass option plays) and screen passes. Much of the focus in the passing game has been within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. That’s what the team has shown in practices and the two preseason games.

What we don’t know is whether O’Brien is doing that to keep things looking vanilla as the rest of the league is curious to see what scheme he’ll run, or whether he’s content to stick with this scheme he learned over the last two years at Alabama.

O’Brien could also be focusing on those short passes because the Patriots have played much of camp with a beat-up offensive line — missing two starters — that has frequently been forced to use two rookies. It’s hard to let downfield routes develop if your line is quickly giving up pressure.

Or maybe the goal really is to base the passing game on short, efficient plays that offer a chance for yards after the catch, an area in which Smith-Schuster excels. Time will tell.

Who is the No. 3 tight end?

This question got immediately more important when Mike Gesicki suffered a shoulder injury that left his Week 1 status up in the air. He was back at practice this week — but in a red non-contact jersey.

Even if Gesicki can play in the opener, the Pats could use a third tight end on the roster if they’re going to rely on multiple-tight-end sets as often as they did in training camp.

Matt Sokol seems to be the favorite to win the third spot behind Hunter Henry and Gesicki. He has improved as a blocker, and one of his blocks in the second preseason game helped spring a touchdown. If he plays that way again Friday against the Titans, Sokol probably will secure that spot.

How will the running back carries shake out?

There’s no doubt that Belichick has great respect for Rhamondre Stevenson and that Stevenson will open the season as the No. 1 running back. But after the Patriots signed Ezekiel Elliott, it’s not entirely clear how much Elliott will eat into Stevenson’s workload.

Elliott was much more involved in practices this week and looks like he’ll be a good fit in the passing game. If he carves out a role on third downs and short-yardage situations, Elliott could take up a chunk of Stevenson’s role.

GO DEEPER

New Patriots RB Ezekiel Elliott is getting involved quickly, bringing the energy

Who is the No. 3 wide receiver?

Admittedly, this is a good problem to have since the Pats have a few options and haven’t had enough depth in recent years for this to even be a debate.

On the positive side, both Douglas and Bourne have been good enough during training camp to earn the No. 3 receiver snaps behind Smith-Schuster and Parker. It’ll be interesting to see which of those two gets the first nod from O’Brien when the team is in 11 personnel.

On the other hand, Thornton hasn’t looked like a No. 3 receiver. He suffered an undisclosed injury in Green Bay and missed practices this week. That doesn’t bode well for his case to get significant snaps early on.

How will the O-line look in Week 1?

New England will face a tough task in Week 1 against an Eagles defense that recorded 70 sacks last season, two shy of the league record. It could get a lot more difficult if the Patriots’ offensive line is still in flux. For the last two weeks, the group has practiced without either of its starting guards, Cole Strange and Mike Onwenu, though Onwenu wore pads on a conditioning field Thursday for the first time this summer.

Riley Reiff does offer them position versatility since he can play guard or tackle, but if Strange and Onwenu miss the opener, the Pats could be starting rookies Atonio Mafi, a fifth-round pick, and Sidy Sow, a fourth-round pick.

The Patriots haven’t had a single practice all spring or summer with their five projected starting offensive linemen. They need to hope Strange and Onwenu are ready to hit the field soon.

What will Malik Cunningham’s role look like?

We still don’t know for sure whether the Patriots will keep Cunningham as a third quarterback on the roster. But if they do, the question becomes how (or, rather, whether) they will actually use him. If they keep six wide receivers, Cunningham wouldn’t really be needed there. But Cunningham got more work with the receivers than the quarterbacks in Green Bay, potentially indicating where the coaches would rather use him.

Perhaps it’s still to be determined. If Cunningham plays well at quarterback Friday night, then you just let him play that spot (especially if you keep six receivers). If not, maybe they can continue to use him as a hybrid player.