This is it for Dobson

This IMO is the last year he will be given a chance on this team to make an impact. If he gets injured ect again or stays in the dog house...he will he shipped off pretty quick or dropped.

It is year 3, make or break year, that usually is the time allotted to players to prove if they will stick to the team.

Barring injuries, I can't see Dobson making much of an impact. The WR4/option 5 sees barely any playing time.

Gronk
Edelman
Lafell
Amendola

I doubt he can beat out Lafell either.





A quick note, BB chose the wrong year to double dip at WR, but our glaring need before the 2013 draft forced his hand. The 2013 draft was terrible all around, so coming out with a future All-Pro LB who would go top 5 in a redraft makes that pats draft a thumbs up anyway.

makoute said:

It is year 3, make or break year, that usually is the time allotted to players to prove if they will stick to the team.

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He is going to have to be healthy all year for this to happen IMO

I have all the confidence in the world that AD will show the world what he can do this year. The fact that he took it upon himself to train as much as he did in the offseason to prevent any future injury showed me that he wants it and he wants to prove a lot of doubters Wrong. Big things are ahead for AD and LaFell this season.

That name sounds familiar, but drawing a blank.

If Dobson can really play to his potential this year, a set putting LaFell, Edelman, Dobson, Gronk and Chandler all on the field is just frightening. A super shifty guy, two guys around 6'2" and two guys over 6'6". Good lord.

patsinthesnow said:

Barring injuries, I can't see Dobson making much of an impact. The WR4/option 5 sees barely any playing time.

Gronk
Edelman
Lafell
Amendola

I doubt he can beat out Lafell either.

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I disagree here. I think Lafell is very good, but if Dobson could really break out and meet his potential he showed early on at times, he could beat out Lafell. Lafell pretty much hit his ceiling last year as a good #2 WR option. I think Dobson still has the measurables to become more than that.

Now those are all big if's. Dobson has much to prove and isn't even safe for a roster spot at this point. But if he could break out imagine the two of Dobson and Lafell outside with Edelman in the slot.

Oh my.

Ross12 said:

If Dobson can really play to his potential this year, a set putting LaFell, Edelman, Dobson, Gronk and Chandler all on the field is just frightening. A super shifty guy, two guys around 6'2" and two guys over 6'6". Good lord.

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A taller front line than the Celtics.

Joey007 said:

I disagree here. I think Lafell is very good, but if Dobson could really break out and meet his potential he showed early on at times, he could beat out Lafell. Lafell pretty much hit his ceiling last year as a good #2 WR option. I think Dobson still has the measurables to become more than that.

Now those are all big if's. Dobson has much to prove and isn't even safe for a roster spot at this point. But if he could break out imagine the two of Dobson and Lafell outside with Edelman in the slot.

Oh my.

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Yep. They are ifs. Dobson has the tools but at this level everyone has the tools. Its work ethic, system and brains that separate the producers from the pretenders. LaFell achieves. Dobson has not- yet.

patsinthesnow said:

Barring injuries, I can't see Dobson making much of an impact. The WR4/option 5 sees barely any playing time.

Gronk
Edelman
Lafell
Amendola

I doubt he can beat out Lafell either.

A quick note, BB chose the wrong year to double dip at WR, but our glaring need before the 2013 draft forced his hand. The 2013 draft was terrible all around, so coming out with a future All-Pro LB who would go top 5 in a redraft makes that pats draft a thumbs up anyway.

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Allen was a big favorite of this board, and I was big on Wheaton in round 3. The Patriots could have gotten both, though Wheaton would have required a small trade up.

Brady_to_Moss said:

This IMO is the last year he will be given a chance on this team to make an impact. If he gets injured ect again or stays in the dog house...he will he shipped off pretty quick or dropped.

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I've already pretty much written him off, to be honest. That foot injury was just really poorly timed, and given how long he's been off the field and the guys ahead of him I think the only way he sees significant playing time is if someone ahead of him sustains a longish-term injury.

Best case scenario, the Pats were just being extremely conservative with his recovery last year, and were willing to punt on year two in order to make absolutely sure his foot was healthy in year 3. If that's the case (and I'd guess that that was some of it, but not all), then he's still got an uphill battle, but that's the only scenario where I wouldn't be already writing him off based on the past two years.

Deus Irae said:

Allen was a big favorite of this board, and I was big on Wheaton in round 3. The Patriots could have gotten both, though Wheaton would have required a small trade up.

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Yup, there were good WRs available there in the second round. I didn't have a problem with the Dobson pick at the time, so I'm not going to kill it now. But it's not like he was the consensus BPA at WR and the Pats just had to pick one or anything. There were plenty of options.

or he can go to IR 2 more years, pats sign him to a 10 year 1M contract extension and then he plays as a hall of famer the rest of his career.

Joey007 said:

I disagree here. I think Lafell is very good, but if Dobson could really break out and meet his potential he showed early on at times, he could beat out Lafell. Lafell pretty much hit his ceiling last year as a good #2 WR option. I think Dobson still has the measurables to become more than that.

Now those are all big if's. Dobson has much to prove and isn't even safe for a roster spot at this point. But if he could break out imagine the two of Dobson and Lafell outside with Edelman in the slot.

Oh my.

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Lafell last season: 74 receptions 953 yards 7 TDs with 0 receptions in the first two games, due to Amendola and Thompkins' high snap counts. Once he became a starter, Lafell turned into a legit WR2. Dobson would have to really shine to unseat him, especially because he was Brad'ys most productive outside WR since 2009 Moss.

I agree that we could see Dobson earning WR3 reps in a three WR set with Lafell, Dobson, and Edelman in the slot though if he performs well this year.

Deus Irae said:

Allen was a big favorite of this board, and I was big on Wheaton in round 3. The Patriots could have gotten both, though Wheaton would have required a small trade up.

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Allen was the best WR in the draft. I wanted him at 29 and was surprised to see his slide come draft day. He fell to round 3 because of injury concerns. BB didn't feel comfortable taking on that risk. It is what is I guess.

I haven't followed Wheaton, but he's a WR2/fourth option on an elite offense, so he must be doing alright. His stat line makes me wonder if he'd start over Lafell though. He'd probably be a WR3 here.

Dobson had the best rookie season with Brady of any receiver during Brady's tenure. If healthy he will be an important asset stretching the field outside the numbers.

patsfan13 said:

Dobson had the best rookie season with Brady of any receiver during Brady's tenure.

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No, he didn't. He put up numbers because of all the injuries to other receivers, but Branch had a much better rookie season. Heck, Thomkins had 32 catches in the same season Dobson had 37, again out of necessity.

Remember, Branch had 43 catches despite being the WR3, behind Brown and Patten.

patsfan13 said:

If healthy he will be an important asset stretching the field outside the numbers.

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That would be nice.

patsinthesnow said:

I haven't followed Wheaton, but he's a WR2/fourth option on an elite offense, so he must be doing alright. His stat line makes me wonder if he'd start over Lafell though. He'd probably be a WR3 here.

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Yeah, Pittsburgh has some nice offensive tools, no doubt. I wonder if Bryant will end up as the WR2 or not, which may be dependent upon the shorter/longer type of attack they deploy?

Antonio Brown WR1
Martavius Bryant WR2 (8 touchdown receptions in limited time who came on as one of the top downfield threats in the entire NFL last year, likely the #2 option in a downfield attack this year)
Markus Wheaton WR3 (53 catches)

Le'Veon Bell (number one overall option who saw more than 35 percent of all offensive production)

Heath Miller TE (66 catches)

BradyFTW! said:

I've already pretty much written him off, to be honest. That foot injury was just really poorly timed, and given how long he's been off the field and the guys ahead of him I think the only way he sees significant playing time is if someone ahead of him sustains a longish-term injury.

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This may be the reality of the situation, showing the limited opportunity that can occur when injury presents itself at this kind of level. That said, we also got a bit lucky last year with WR health, so I wouldn't totally shut the door on his potential either, even if it's only remaining cracked due to possibility of injury.

I think we'll know a lot more if he has any kind of production during TC/preseason. If not, he may find himself trying to earn a spot in a crowded depth chart (Gibson, Boyce, Dobson, etc). I fully agree with you that there may be more to it than just injury, although the injury was likely a big part of the deal. We'll know soon enough.

I might be the biggest Dobson fan on the board, but he will not take reps from LaFell. LaFell was absolutely clutch last year and just kept getting better. The guy is a late bloomer that didn't get used to his maximum abilities in Carolina. Dobson is great insurance for the receiving core and will play in big moments out of necessity when the inevitable injuries happen. He will be good, I have no doubt about that. But LaFell more than earned job security last year. We may not be talking about a fifth ring without the LaFell signing.