The New England Patriots’ depth chart is starting to take shape as Bill Belichick gets his team prepared for the Carolina Panthers on a short week.
Patriots starters will likely see significant time Thursday in the “dress rehearsal” preseason game. We’ll have an even better sense of the Patriots’ depth chart by the end of the week.
But here’s what we’ve gathered about the Patriots’ starters and backups with two weeks left to go before regular-season preparation begins.
QUARTERBACK
Tom Brady
Brian Hoyer
Jarrett Stidham
— Hoyer still has the edge over Stidham for the backup job for now, but there are still two weeks for the standout rookie to push the veteran.
RUNNING BACK
Sony Michel-James White
Rex Burkhead
Damien Harris
Brandon Bolden
Nick Brossette
— Harris could leapfrog Burkhead on the depth chart by the time the summer is over. He was very impressive in his preseason debut Saturday, and Burkhead struggled to find consistency last season as he dealt with injuries.
FULLBACK
James Develin
Andrew Beck
Jakob Johnson
— What other NFL team goes three deep at fullback? Beck is the most athletic option in his group. Johnson will likely be on the Patriots’ practice squad this season.
WIDE RECEIVER
Julian Edelman-Philip Dorsett-Jakobi Meyers
N’Keal Harry
Maurice Harris
Braxton Berrios
Gunner Olszewski
Damoun Patterson
Ryan Davis
Matthew Slater
PUP: Demaryius Thomas, Cameron Meredith
NFI: Josh Gordon
— Assuming Gordon comes off NFI before Week 1, he would supplant Dorsett as a starter. We might be on an island here, but we’d prefer Meyers as a starter over Dorsett and Harry, both of whom are injured, right now.
TIGHT END
Ben Watson (suspended)
Matt LaCosse
Ryan Izzo
Lance Kendricks
Stephen Anderson
Eric Saubert
— Izzo has impressed since LaCosse suffered an injury in the Patriots’ first preseason game, especially as a blocker. And he’s athletic enough to catch some passes. We still think Watson will be the top option when he returns from suspension.
OFFENSIVE LINE
LT Isaiah Wynn-LG Joe Thuney-C David Andrews-RG Shaq Mason-RT Marcus Cannon
Ted Karras
Dan Skipper
Hjalte Froholdt
James Ferentz
Cole Croston
Tyler Gauthier
Tyrie St. Louis
Martez Ivey
Cedrick Lang
— Skipper is clearly the Patriots’ best option at swing tackle right now, but we have a feeling the Patriots could slip him onto the practice squad in order to keep just seven offensive linemen. That would make Thuney the emergency backup offensive tackle if an injury occurred during a game.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Lawrence Guy-Michael Bennett
Danny Shelton
Adam Butler
Deatrich Wise Jr.
Byron Cowart
Mike Pennel
Keionta Davis
David Parry
Ufomba Kamalu
Nick Thurman
— Pennel has been a slight disappointment since coming to the Patriots as a free agent. He’s clearly behind Shelton as the Patriots’ top nose tackle based on practice and preseason reps. This group is really deep. All of these players are talented and could catch on elsewhere.
LINEBACKER
Kyle Van Noy-Dont’a Hightower-Ja’Whaun Bentley-Jamie Collins
John Simon
Shilique Calhoun
Elandon Roberts
Derek Rivers
Calvin Munson
Brandon King
Chase Winovich
Trent Harris
Christian Sam
Terez Hall
— This is another really deep group. We’re slotting in Bentley as the Patriots’ 11th “starter” on defense. That spot also could go to Shelton, Simon, Winovich or Calhoun depending on how the Patriots want to situate their defensive front in a given game. Expect Winovich to climb the depth chart by the end of the summer. The Patriots have worked him in on the third team so far.
CORNERBACK
Stephon Gilmore-Jason McCourty-Jonathan Jones
JC Jackson
Joejuan Williams
Keion Crossen
Duke Dawson
Ken Webster
— McCourty is ahead of Jackson based on practice and preseason snaps. We still think Jackson could supplant McCourty or Jones for a starting role early in the season.
SAFETY
Devin McCourty-Patrick Chung
Duron Harmon
Terrence Brooks
Obi Melifonwu
Nate Ebner
A.J. Howard
Malik Gant
— Brooks and Harmon are neck-and-neck for that No. 3 role.
SPECIAL TEAMS
K Stephen Gostkowski-P Jake Bailey-LS Joe Cardona
— The Patriots released punter Ryan Allen on Monday, giving Bailey the top punting job.
