Break out players 2014

IcyPatriot said:

I heard Larry Izzo thinks it will be Buchanan.

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I love Buchanan I think he has tremendous upside, he lost his role last season because he was undisciplined in edge containment and was getting eaten up against the mobile QBs but in 122 snaps he had 2 sacks and 10 total pressures, which was good for a pass rush productivity rating of 7.7. That was greater than JPP or Jared Allen, granted on much smaller sample size.

He added some size in the offseason working a lot with Chandler Jones; he is a physical specimen that rivals just about any DE not named Clowney in the NFL. If he can put it all together, he could be fantastic.

JackBauer said:

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2014/05/patriots-otas-observations-julian-edelman-justin-jones-stand-out/

Roy Finch supposedly looking good as a receiver out of the backfield. Might be an UDFA to watch.

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Bolden has his work cut out for him this season to make the 53 man roster with Finch and Houston.

Collins.....

It's hard to pick an offensive lineman, because if they are playing really well, you don't notice them.

Very interested to see if we get Stork and Halapio/Cannon on the field in place of Wendell and Connolly. Stork is 315 and Halapio/Cannon are 325+. Vollmer coming back healthy gives the whole line a different make-up. Could be more power blocking to the right-side.

For break-out players, I'll go with UDFA Stephen Houston RB, Indiana on offense and Dominique Easley on defense.

I know it ain't original, but my picks are:

Offense - Dobson - He was becoming Brady's primary receiver prior to breaking his foot and becoming a go-to guy. Losing the offseason will hinder him a bit, but I think he was ready to break out before he broke his foot.

Collins - the Collins we saw at the end of the season and the playoffs was DROY quality. I think if we saw this version of Collins from early in the season, I think he would have won that award. Sheldon Richardson had a terrific rookie year, but he had not a lot of competition for that award last year. I think a second year leap, especially since he came into the league raw, could make him a standout player.

BTW, I think Collins makes Hightower a strong candidate for comeback player of the year for the Pats. I hear they are going to use Hightower more of a pass rusher on sub packages (possibly lining him up at DE). In base packages, Collins and the return of Mayo will allow Hightower to be used properly. I think he was miscast last year because Collins wasn't ready and Mayo went down. Hightower had a bit of rebound after Collins came in last year and became a starter.

Not counting rookies

Offense. I expect Dobson will but am hopeful that one, or both, of Boyce/Thompkins will.
Defense. I expect Collins will but am hopeful that one, or both, of Hightower/Buchanan will. If Ryan ends up starting at safety I could see him thriving as a big play defender as well.

Oh... not counting rookies.

I'll go with a pair from Rutgers: Duron Harmon/Steve Beauharnais on the defense.
I'll pile on the Aaron Dobson bandwagon if there's room for one more. Though Stevan Ridley could be a pleasant surprise if he wins back the trust of the coaches.

What I like about 2014 is the odds that at least one of the 2nd year players will break out noticeably, in a Chandler Jones kind of way, whether it's Collins or Dobson, Ryan or Harmon, Boyce, Buchanan or Beauharnais. They're all high-character, hard-working, gifted players. It's entirely possible that 2013 was one of Belichick's finest drafts ever.

micronin127 said:

It's hard to pick an offensive lineman, because if they are playing really well, you don't notice them.

Very interested to see if we get Stork and Halapio/Cannon on the field in place of Wendell and Connolly. Stork is 315 and Halapio/Cannon are 325+. Vollmer coming back healthy gives the whole line a different make-up. Could be more power blocking to the right-side.

For break-out players, I'll go with UDFA Stephen Houston RB, Indiana on offense and Dominique Easley on defense.

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I agree on the OL, if they can win those interior OL positions this season it will be a big step in the right direction as the interior of their OL (C/RG)was weak last season. I think Stork has the better shot at getting into the starting line-up early despite the learning curve at C, if Belichick believes he will be the better Center going forward he may just throw him in there, let him learn on the job and go for the stronger team in January. In fact I would love to see him do it at both C and RG, whether it is Cannon or halapio , Connolly would be best served as swing back-up imo.

Brady6 said:

Not sure Amendola is fully healed, this is from today's OTA, he did return however so it may have been nothing.

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What a shock lol.

Galeb said:

Jamie Collins
Chandler Jones

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This is a prediction thread, I will never understand why anyone would put dislikes up for positive prediction posts?

I can see it if someone said Jamie Collins is going to blow his knee out and never play but disliking Collins and Jones to have big seasons makes absolutely no sense to me at all.

JackBauer said:

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2014/05/patriots-otas-observations-julian-edelman-justin-jones-stand-out/

Roy Finch supposedly looking good as a receiver out of the backfield. Might be an UDFA to watch.

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I think he is likely going to end up on the PS but I would love to see them go with Ridley, Vereen, White, Houston, and Finch as the Danny Woodhead replacement. I doubt they will go with 3 rookies and would guess Develin wins that final spot to help protect Brady inside, but I still like it and thinks they could all be on the roster next season.


I also wonder if the real reason for bringing Develin in is to deal with the increasing pressure defenses are bringing inside the tackles, as a 2nd TE isn't going to help much with that unless they are in the backfield.

KontradictioN said:

If it's just for the Pats, I think the most viable candidate for that would be Dobson. He was beginning to catch on last year before he was hurt. If the Pittsburgh game is any indication of where he may be this year (given health), he would be my pick.

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I agree on Dobson and have him on my list as well, however I don't think the measure of it is going to be really big numbers but will be more about big plays and his ability to stretch the field both vertically and horizontally. because of that I don't expect him to see as many balls as Amendola and Edelman, but when they go to him he needs to make the plays and make teams pay for too much attention inside.

I love the idea of Dobson facing Browner and Revis in practice every day, that's going to prepare him like nothing else could. I hope they are in his face every second and make him earn everything every practice. Games are never easy but that will make him all the more ready for them.

Brady6 said:

Tidbit on Collins from today’s OTA, he does seem poised to bust out.

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Andre Tippit II ? I remember Tippett was a 2nd round pick who exploded in his 2nd season with 8.5 sacks, 3rd season had 18.5 sacks !

I'm gonna put Dobson, Collins, and Ryan to the side because they flashed breakout last season.

1. Buchanan
2. White (I just get the feeling there will be opportunity for him)
3. Boyce

Also high on Buchanan and Thompkins.

Ivan said:

I think he is likely going to end up on the PS but I would love to see them go with Ridley, Vereen, White, Houston, and Finch as the Danny Woodhead replacement. I doubt they will go with 3 rookies and would guess Develin wins that final spot to help protect Brady inside, but I still like it and thinks they could all be on the roster next season.


I also wonder if the real reason for bringing Develin in is to deal with the increasing pressure defenses are bringing inside the tackles, as a 2nd TE isn't going to help much with that unless they are in the backfield.

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Check out Finch’s college highlight reel, he is dynamic player and hella entertaining to watch play.

scott99 said:

Andre Tippit II ? I remember Tippett was a 2nd round pick who exploded in his 2nd season with 8.5 sacks, 3rd season had 18.5 sacks !

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Some comments on the comments:

1. I found it interesting that Andre Tippett was "sackless" in his rookie year. Good thing the internet was a decade away from the average fan, or there would have been calls for his head, plus the coach & GM who picked him. Just another bad 2nd round pick who was drafted to be a pass rusher and then didn't produce squat.

2. This thread got me thinking about how many possibilities there are to pick as a break out player. Despite the year ending badly in the AFCCG, just think of the first year players who played such key roles in getting into the final four. Collins, Ryan, Harmon, CJones, Villano, Siliga, Buchanon, Dobson, Thompkins, and if you want to stretch it a bit, even Boyce. Think about it. That's 10 friggin' first year players who made contributions to a final 4 team

3. I mean, no one is even talking about CJones, who had 6 sacks as an interior DLman. IIRC only Seymour's 8 is higher, and that number came after he'd long established himself as one of the top DLmen in the league. What if this kid improves his game with a 2nd full year with the team.

4. Bottom line, while Dobson and Collins are the obvious picks, there are a slew of other possibilities and THAT doesn't include any 3rd or 4th year players, or a red shirt like Armstead who might break out.

5. The key to the Pats long term success has been the ability to develop a relatively large number of players from the bottom of the draft, UDFA, and other teams' trash over a long period of time. Connolly, Slater, Wendell, Arrington, Edelman, etc all took several years before they became key contributors. Who knows if guys like Ebner, Wilson, Harrison, or Bequette might suddenly turn into a starter or key rotational player at last.

When you start thinking like that, you can probably pick from around 15-18 guys who might realistically take the "next step", That is a huge luxury when you are already an elite team in the league.

Ken,
Looking at projected rosters many fans have Chris Jones not making the 53

patfanken said:

Some comments on the comments:
3. I mean, no one is even talking about CJones, who had 6 sacks as an interior DLman. IIRC only Seymour's 8 is higher, and that number came after he'd long established himself as one of the top DLmen in the league. What if this kid improves his game with a 2nd full year with the team.

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PatsWickedPissah said:

Ken,
Looking at projected rosters many fans have Chris Jones not making the 53

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Chris Jones does not get a lot of credit for his 2013-14 performance he played in 15 total games (13 regular season, 2 postseason) during which he compiled 61 tackles, 7 sacks, and 3 run stuffs. Posters dismiss him as an afterthought and that does not make much sense to me.