After being burdened with a terrible Week 4 bye in 2015 that could be blamed for their late-season swoon, the New England Patriots have the ideal break to their 2016 season.
The Patriots’ bye week comes eight games into the season when players, who have stayed unusually healthy so far (knock on wood), undoubtedly are feeling the effects of two months of NFL action.
With eight games in the rearview mirror, here’s how the Patriots’ skill-position players’ statistics project at the end of the season. You can compare these to fantasy projections before the 2016 season began.
QUARTERBACK
Tom Brady: 294 of 402, 3,957 yards, 36 touchdowns, 0 interceptions; 30 carries, 132 yards
Brady only played four games after serving a four-week suspension, so we multiplied his stats by three to account for the 12 games he projects to play. He’s on a ridiculous tear, so his end-of-year numbers might not be this crazy, but he’s not showing any signs of slowing down.
RUNNING BACK
LeGarrette Blount:Â 322 carries, 1,218 yards, 18 touchdowns; 12 catches, 62 yards
James White: 52 carries, 214 yards; 58 catches, 516 yards, six touchdowns
Because Dion Lewis is set to return off PUP any week now, neither player likely will be this productive. Blount’s carries have dwindled since Brady returned, so there’s very little chance he finishes with over 300.
If Lewis starts playing in Week 10 against the Seahawks, he could have a similar stat line to last season: 49 carries for 234 yards with two touchdowns and 36 catches for 388 yards with two more scores.
WIDE RECEIVER
Julian Edelman: 82 catches, 716 yards, two touchdowns; 18 carries 78 yards
Chris Hogan: 38 catches, 782 yards, four touchdowns; two carries, 4 yards
Danny Amendola: 32 catches, 378 yards, six touchdowns
Malcolm Mitchell: 12 catches, 164 yards
Hogan likely will finish with more catches and a lower yards per reception. Edelman could pick up at the end of the season and finish with better numbers as long as he stays healthy. Amendola has carved out a nice role as a situational pass-catcher.
TIGHT END
Rob Gronkowski: 49 catches, 1,129 yards, seven touchdowns
Martellus Bennett: 62 catches, 804 yards, eight touchdowns
Gronkowski’s statistics likely will be even more impressive by the end of the year. We took the six games Gronkowski played and projected them out to 14 games. If you take his four games of normal production and project those out to 14 games, you come up with 63 catches, 1,419 yards and nine touchdowns.
Thumbnail photo via Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports Images
