Credit Matt Patricia for helping bring DeVante Parker to the New England Patriots.
Asked Friday about the Patriots' decision to acquire Parker from the division rival Miami Dolphins, director of player personnel Matt Groh singled out Patricia as the one who laid the groundwork for the trade.
"Certainly, it got kick-started on their end with them adding a different player and then where they were at with their wide receiver room," Groh said over Zoom, referring to Miami's trade for superstar wideout Tyreek Hill. "And then having the opportunity to add a great player to our roster.
"They weren't going to be able to just keep everybody, and when a player became available, I would say Matt Patricia did a great job of being on that early and kind of getting that information to us as quickly as he could. We were in on that early, and it really came together well for us. We're really excited about having DeVante here."
That story illustrates the multifaceted, somewhat mysterious role Patricia plays within the Patriots organization.
His official title last season -- his first back in New England after a forgettable 2 1/2-year stint as head coach of the Detroit Lions -- was "senior football advisor," working closely with head coach Bill Belichick while handling matters like player contracts. This season, he'll have a prominent position on the Patriots' offensive coaching staff, according to Belichick, despite having not coached offense since 2005. The positional focus of that job has yet to be confirmed.
Patricia also accompanied Belichick, Groh, team owner Robert Kraft the rest of the Patriots' traveling party to the NFL owners meetings last month.
In Parker, the Patriots added a proven, starting-caliber veteran to their receiving corps, though one who's battled injuries throughout his seven-year career. The 29-year-old became expendable in Miami after the Dolphins swung a blockbuster trade for Hill, who will team up with 2021 first-round draft pick Jaylen Waddle to form arguably the NFL's fastest receiver duo. The Patriots sent a 2023 third-rounder to Miami in exchange for Parker and a 2022 fifth.
Defending Hill and Waddle will be a challenge for the Patriots' secondary, which lost Pro Bowl cornerback J.C. Jackson in free agency and thus far has replaced him with Terrance Mitchell and the newly unretired Malcolm Butler.
"We've got to play them twice," Groh said of New England's AFC East foe. "Those are two very, very meaningful games. We've got to have a way to be able to combat those two players, along with a lot of the other great players that they have and have been able to add. But there's multiple ways to doing that -- there's personnel, there's scheme.
"We're very cognizant of what they've got down there, and we're going to try and find guys that can help us out in that regard. There's multiple ways to try to find different avenues to slow those guys down, but it'll be tough. They certainly added a lot of speed there."
