Patriots Mailbag: Projecting Roles For These Notable Rookies

Fourteen practices in Foxboro, Mass.

One preseason game.

Two joint practices in Green Bay, including one especially raucous one on Thursday.

The Patriots are more than halfway through training camp. The Aug. 29 cutdown deadline is rapidly approaching. Week 1 isn’t far behind.

As New England heads into an off-day ahead of its Saturday night exhibition matchup with the Packers at Lambeau Field, let’s take this opportunity to empty the mailbag and answer some of your most pressing Patriots questions.

@raven_520
How big of a concern is the offensive line? Do you see it being a major detriment to the team this season
A big concern.

If the Patriots have their preferred starting five up front, I think they’ll be fine. It’s not the best group in the NFL, but it’s good enough, especially since they now have an offensive coordinator who knows how to scheme around a potential weak spot.

The problem is they haven’t had that top five available for a single practice this spring or summer. Left tackle Trent Brown is back to full-go after an undisclosed injury limited him early in training camp, and left guard Cole Strange appears to be getting close.

But we still have no idea when right guard Mike Onwenu — New England’s best O-lineman — will be able to return from offseason ankle surgery and whether his absence will stretch into the regular season. Onwenu, who’s on the physically unable to perform list, hasn’t suited up since January.

Another mystery is who will start at right tackle. Riley Reiff, Conor McDermott and, most recently, rookie Sidy Sow all have gotten opportunities there. Calvin Anderson could be in that mix, too, but he’s yet another unknown, as he’s spent all of camp on the non-football injury list. His only participation has been watching practice from the sideline in a hoodie.

So, yeah, it’s a concern — the biggest one facing the Patriots’ new-look offense.

“You need five guys that can work as one,” Brown told reporters after Wednesday’s joint practice. “Hopefully we get healthy soon.”

@mainly_sports
Chances of Demario “Pop Shotta” Douglas making the 53 man roster?
Barring injury, like, 98%. He’s as close to a roster lock as a sixth-round rookie can get. I’d be stunned if he doesn’t make the team, and I think he’ll have a real role as a rookie.

How large that role will be remains to be seen, but I’ve been thoroughly impressed by Douglas, especially as a route-runner. He has great hands, too, and the kind of toughness you need to succeed in the NFL when you’re 5-foot-8, 192 pounds.

Douglas’ skill set also makes him a throwback to what the Patriots used to look for in their slot receivers, even if his phone-booth quickness isn’t as elite as Julian Edelman’s or Wes Welker’s. Jakobi Meyers was their primary slot option in recent years, and he’s a different kind of player at 6-2, 200. So is JuJu Smith-Schuster (6-1, 215), their current top slot.

I’d put Douglas fourth on the depth chart right now behind Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker and Kendrick Bourne. He’s seen work with Mac Jones in every training camp practice, cooked defenders in 1-on-1 drills and hardly played in the first preseason game — a good sign for a player in his situation.

We’ll see how things develop for “Pop” over the next few weeks, but my early prediction is he’ll see 10-15 snaps per game to begin the season, perhaps taking over some of the responsibilities Marcus Jones had on offense last year.

@pats300levelpod
With the emergence of Douglas and Boutte so far this offseason/camp, if both were to make the roster would the Patriots likely be carrying 6 WR or would Bourne or potentially Thornton be the odd man out (barring injury to anyone else at the position)?
Unlike Douglas, I think Kayshon Boutte still has work to do to earn a roster spot. New England’s other sixth-round wideout has a ton of natural talent and potential, but he hasn’t been consistent enough in practice and looked a little sluggish in his preseason debut. He did not make the cut in my latest 53-man roster projection.

There’s still a week-and-a-half to go before cutdown day, though, and I certainly could see a scenario in which Boutte plays his way onto the team. The Patriots also could hang onto him if they believe he can help them in the future and are fearful of losing him to a waiver claim. For now, though, I view him as a more likely practice squad candidate.

But would they keep six wideouts if Boutte sticks? That’s not how they’ve typically operated. The Patriots have included more than five receivers on their initial 53-man roster just once in the last decade. That was in 2019, when they rostered N’Keal Harry in order to move him to injured reserve and then carried Demaryius Thomas and Antonio Brown on the roster for one week each. (Players who are placed on IR before final cuts cannot return during the season.)

It’s worth noting Tyquan Thornton left Thursday’s joint practice with an apparent injury. If that proves serious, perhaps they could take a similar path with him. Thornton has not been especially impressive this summer, but it’s too early to give up on a second-round draft pick going into his second season.

I’m also not getting rid of Bourne, even though his tradeable contract gives him less security than Smith-Schuster or Parker. I think he’s primed for a bounce-back year under Bill O’Brien, and the Patriots might need to rely more on their third and fourth receivers if tight end Mike Gesicki’s shoulder injury lingers into the regular season.

@BarlesCharkly
I keep hearing about Christian Gonzalez getting burned for TDs at practice, but everyone says he looks solid like a starter. Which is it?
Both. Based on how the Patriots have deployed Gonzalez this summer, it would be surprising if he wasn’t one of their starting outside cornerbacks in Week 1. But no, he hasn’t been dominant this summer.

The first-round draft pick was on the losing end of more than a few 11-on-11 reps against DeVante Parker in the first two weeks of training camp, and he was one of the players in coverage on a Jordan Love bomb Wednesday, according to reporters in attendance. Questions about Gonzalez’s physicality also resurfaced when Houston Texans receiver Nico Collins trucked him on the first play of the preseason.

Overall, though, I’ve seen more good than bad from Gonzalez. His high-end athleticism is obvious, and he’s made a number of plays on the ball in practice. There are going to be some growing pains, but we’re also talking about the youngest player on the Patriots’ roster. Fans should be excited about what he can bring to this secondary.

That said, it would really help to have an established veteran like Jonathan Jones on the field with Gonzalez as he begins his NFL career. Jones hasn’t practiced in two weeks, and every player behind him on the depth chart has no more than one year of NFL experience.