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BOSTON (CBS) – Bill Belichick is never right to tell you what he does and why he does it. If you really want to know, you have to deduce from it. Some suppose, if you want.
A few assumptions.
And although we never really understand why, exactly, a team would want to pick a punter in the fifth round, we should be able to agree on at least one conclusion with respect to the main goal. Patriotes was this past weekend.
This goal? Add some big receivers.
It was clear Thursday night when Belichick picked a wide receiver in the first round for the first time in his term as head coach of the Patriots. Belichick made a first-round pick 17 times before last week and 17 times he avoided the receiver. During his two decades of writing, he had not even spent a lot of second- or third-turn receiver choices, selecting only four second-turn and two-turn receivers since 2000.
But this year marked a change of course, the Patriots having written the voluminous and physical version N'Keal Harry on the state of Arizona. He was enrolled in college at 6 feet 4 inches, but it was apparently a bit stung; he measured 6 feet 2 inches and 3/8 at the combine.
Nevertheless, Harry represents a different type of receiver than those who flourished in the era of Tom Brady. Aside from Randy Moss (6-foot-4) and tight end Rob Gronkowski (6-foot-6-foot), the Patriots' prototype receiver was the shortest but more offbeat. Deion Branch (5 feet 9 inches), Wes Welker (5 feet 9 feet), Troy Brown (5 feet 10 feet), Julian Edelman (5 feet 10 feet), David Patten (5 feet 10 feet), and Danny Amendola (5 feet 10 feet) 11 inches) have all flourished in Brady's offenses, dating back to the time of Charlie Weis during Josh McDaniels' multiple terms. Unlike the real world, Foxboro has done better.
It is not as if the Patriots had received no contribution from larger receivers. Chris Hogan (6-1), Brandon LaFell (6-3), Malcolm Mitchell (6-1) and Cordarrelle Patterson (6-2) all contributed to the championships to varying degrees. in the last seasons. But they were not the center of the offensive.
This could change because Harry was not the only player added to the team this weekend to adapt to the new mold.
In the pool of free uncrushed agents, the Patriots have Three dedications to the receiving station. One is 6 feet 2 inches, and the other is 6 feet 3 inches.
Now, if one of the 10 UDFAs makes the list is still a question, let alone multiple players at the same position. But the effort to sign both Xavier Ubosi out of UAB and Jakobi Meyers in North America seems to indicate that the Patriots give priority to the height at the receiving station.
And now that we have the weekend draft additions to better pinpoint the picture, we can revisit the additions from earlier in the off season to see the trend continue. Demaryius Thomas was brought under a "proof-that" contract; he is 6 feet 3 inches tall. Maurice Harris was signed early in the free agency process; likewise, he stands at 6 feet 3 inches.
Now, the addition of five receptors that stand every 6 feet 2 or more could just be a wild coincidence. Or it could be – and probably is – the result of a concerted effort to grow up a bit at the reception point.
This may be the Josh Gordon effect. When the Patriots added Gordon early last season, their attack was changed on the fly to incorporate it. After some difficult starts, Brady and he worked very well together, up to 30 receptions for 577 yards and two touchdowns over a seven-game period. Gordon had a quiet final as a patriot, before being suspended for an indefinite period. The Patriots adjusted by becoming a very popular team and managed that style until victory at the Super Bowl.
But for 2019, it appears from the outside that the Patriots go there … exactly there: from the outside.
This may be partly due to Gordon's efficiency in terms of the number of yards per reception. Gordon averaged 18 yards per jack last season, which was the best of the team and the highest mark for a Patriots receiver (with at least 40 receptions) since David Patten in 2004. (Even in the Randy Moss's historic season in 2007, he was averaging "Only" 15.2 yards per receiving.) And with Gronkowski's subtraction, the need to rake yards by big chunks will have to be filled by the other players. Being a tall person seems to be a prerequisite.
It is remarkable at first sight that this represents a potential change of philosophy compared to a team that relied heavily on the slot machine and the pass reception to take into account a significant portion of the assists. 'team. In addition, it should be noted that this could be a case of Belichick again bringing back a position he has helped to devalue over the years.
This is perhaps exaggerated because the teams have always valued the large external receivers. But the rise in the value of the slot receiver in the NFL coincided with Welker's dominance. As they say, it's a league of copiers.
At the same time, the increased reliance on widespread attack by the Patriots has helped make the right back become a bit of an obsolete position in many circles of the NFL. And who brought the back half to the forefront of a championship-level offense? That was of course Bill Belichick, with James Develin, a human demolisher.
We may be fighting here. Maybe we give too much credit to Belichick for reinventing the wheel. Maybe he's just training. Maybe all these great receivers added this year simply have desirable skills for the Patriots' makers. May be.
But as far as inferring what the Patriots had intended to do based on what they actually did, it seems as if taking up height at the receiver station was certainly a goal this spring.
You can send an email to Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
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