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We are now a few weeks away from opening training camp for the New England Patriots and thus prompting a number of questions regarding this team as we head into the 2021 season. Of course, this is the time of the year. year in which various position battles are officially fought in the league, as starting jobs will be won and lost over the next few months. In Foxborough, there are few sufficiently massive battles to watch out for particularly.
As we continue to count down the minutes until the unofficial start of the year in the NFL, we’ll highlight three key position battles that are expected to take place throughout training camp in New England, including the most important position of all – – quarterback.
No real shock here. This is going to be history in New England all summer long. As it stands, Cam Newton should be seen as having the right path to win the Week 1 job. Bill Belichick clearly has confidence in Newton as proof of the head coach who has never wavered in his career. faith in 2020, despite the many opportunities to do so. While not a drastic financial commitment, the Patriots have also brought Newton back this offseason, which is just another indication the club are intrigued by the possibility of a potential rebound year. . That said, the job will be given to first-round rookie Jones at some point. He is clearly the future in this position, but it remains to be seen when this changing of the guard will actually take place.
In order for Jones to truly qualify for the Week 1 job, he would not only have to show that he knows Josh McDaniels offense well, but Newton would likely need to flounder as well. If Jones shows he is capable of playing well in the preseason, but Newton holds the serve, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Belichick lean to the veteran’s side to start the year. Really, the week 1 job might not even be really up for grabs. As long as the status quo remains, Newton’s work is likely to be lost. That said, a solid training camp for Jones will likely open up the possibility for him to topple Newton at some point in the regular season instead of the Alabama product actually going through a red shirt year.
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Who will emerge as the # 1 wide receiver
One of the biggest non-quarterback questions with the Patriots centers around wide receiver position. Right now, there is no clear No.1 receiver, especially following Julian Edelman’s retirement in the offseason. Yes, the two tight ends – Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith – will be key elements of catching passes in this offense, as they will likely sit in a 12-person base, but the pecking order at the receiver level has yet to be worked out. . Jakobi Meyers was the New England receiving leader a year ago, so his experience in the offensive should give him a head start over newcomers Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne as they all have two signed with the team early in free agency this offseason. These three receivers will be involved in large part, but what we see during camp could give us an indication of who will turn out to be the de facto number 1. Agholor might have the clearest path to a starting point as he brings an ability to expand the field that neither Bourne nor Meyers really have, but other factors will also be at play. Meyers has a strong relationship with Newton, this which could be a key part if the quarterback wins the position of the week 1. Meanwhile, Bourne is no slouch either and comes to New England after a year of career in San Francisco.
Lawrence Guy has already locked one of the starting points of the defensive tackle: it is this other starting position inside – depending on the packages deployed by the team – that will be up for grabs. Currently Davon Godchaux and rookie Christian Barmore will likely be the two fighting for this during camp. Godchaux was part of New England’s free agency madness when the Patriots signed the former Dolphin to a two-year contract in March. The fact that Belichick was aggressive in signing Godchaux for a deal worth $ 15 million suggests that the team clearly have a plan in mind to help an inside defensive line that struggled with the run last season. Godchaux was limited to just five games in 2020, but was a solid part of Miami’s defensive line before that. He started all 16 Dolphins games in 2019 and had a career-high 75 tackles and two sacks.
Meanwhile, the Patriots traded in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft to select Barmore out of Alabama. Barmore was arguably considered the best indoor lineman in his class and could be an instant impact rookie for New England. That said, there were character issues around Barmore, which likely contributed to his downfall in the first round. As long as he keeps that under control, it could be quite a battle on the defensive side of the ball.
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