The 2019 Patriots likely only will go as far as Tom Brady takes them, but New England is set up quite nicely for the future.
The reigning Super Bowl champions boast a respectable crop of young talent poised to make an impact for years to come. Those efforts begin with improving their respective games in the upcoming season, and NFL.com believes there’s one early-year Patriot who just might benefit the team most with a breakout campaign.
NFL writer Gregg Rosenthal recently highlighted each AFC team’s “key homegrown player” as the 2019 season nears. All of the players listed still are on their rookie contracts and are primed for growth this year. For the Patriots, it’s their top 2018 draft pick, Sony Michel.
“Michel was good as a rookie,” Rosenthal writes. “Can he be great? Playing behind one of the best Patriots offensive lines of all time, Michel consistently ran hard in the regular season, if not always to daylight. But the 2018 first-round pick put it all together in a playoff run that included 336 rushing yards and six touchdowns over 71 carries. Those are the kind of numbers associated with a dominant workhorse back. While Michel won’t have to keep up that pace in an absolutely loaded Patriots backfield, his ceiling has been strangely underrated. He could become a true game-changer for Tom Brady with improved elusiveness and pass-catching ability.”
It will be interesting to see how New England divvies up touches this season. The aforementioned “absolutely loaded backfield” grew even stronger in this year’s draft via third-round pick Damien Harris. Michel and Harris are awfully similar backs, and many expect the Alabama product to be a productive player in his rookie season.
Arguably the biggest key for Michel in his sophomore season will be staying healthy. The 24-year-old missed three games in 2018 due to a knee injury and still was just 69 rushing yards short of 1,000 on the campaign. A full 16-game slate not only would go a long way in growing Michel’s confidence, but also the Patriots’ with their investment in him.
Michel will be challenged in 2019 even more so than his rookie campaign, which will help the Patriots truly figure out what they have in the emerging dual-threat break.
