2014 Patriots Need TEs Not More Wide Receivers

[PatsFans.com Article]

2014 Patriots Need TEs Not More Wide Receivers
By:

Larry Fitzgerald, while one of the premiere WRs in the NFL would most certainly help the offense but he isn't what's needed. The team has invested in the wide receiver position and the players will reap better dividends in their second season with the tea...

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[DW Toys]

2014 Patriots Need TEs Not More Wide Receivers
By:

Larry Fitzgerald, while one of the premiere WRs in the NFL would most certainly help the offense but he isn't what's needed. The team has invested in the wide receiver position and the players will reap better dividends in their second season with the tea...

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS STORY​

Fair assessment Cousin.
DW Toys

 

[Gumby]

2014 Patriots Need TEs Not More Wide Receivers
By:

Larry Fitzgerald, while one of the premiere WRs in the NFL would most certainly help the offense but he isn't what's needed. The team has invested in the wide receiver position and the players will reap better dividends in their second season with the tea...

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS STORY​

Having a player of Fitzgerald’s caliber here is a double-edged sword. On one hand there is no denying his ability to produce, but then you must keep feeding him the ball to justify his immense salary. And that salary takes away from other areas that will help the team better. This team is better off with him.

ummmm..... seemed clear you meant to say WITHOUT him.

fair enough point; I tend to agree that there OUGHT TO BE enough talent there at the WR postion. But in addition to adding 1 TE; I think OL-DL and LBs are more important than a 2d TE (or more WRs). But that said I think we'll see the Patriots still address wrs for 2 reasons:

1. BB tends to fix problems by throwing everything at the wall at seeing what sticks; so I still expect him to pick up some wrs somewhere (possibly a FA, and for sure a guy in 6-7 rnds, or UDFAs)

2. I said "ought to be" for a reason. With the Patriots they always seem to be losing a high volume of guys to IR. To some extent you can say it is just the nfl; but when Pats consistently run 10+ IRs per season and half the league has 8 or less consistently; you have a hard time saying it is pure bad luck. It has to be some mix of conditioning programs, BB having a quick IR trigger finger, the Patriots taking a lot of shots at "value" guys (who end up being a 'value/cheap' because they have injury issues) or something else I cant put a finger on. So the Patriots may need those extra wrs just to make sure they can field a full depth chart come October.

 

[Lavictoire]

Lets steal Zach Sudfeld back from the Jets and continue working with him.

 

[TruthSeeker]

I'd like to grab Scott Chandler in free agency, and then use a 1st or 2nd round pick on a TE (Jace Amaro). If we can add Chandler and Amaro to this offense, this will open up things for Dobson, Thompkins and Amendola (or Edelman). Also would give time for Gronk if/when he's on the PUP list.

 

[SalemPats]

Look at the draft, TEs are one of the toughest positions to evaluate because in college they are usually so much bigger and stronger than their opponents. It's tough to see how they separate, toughness, etc... Look at the top 10 TE stats, only 2 were first round picks. We need someone to compliment Gronk, I would look at a Chandler, Zack Miller (if he gets cut)

 

[cstjohn17]

I disagree, the Patriots had a once in a generation set of TEs when both Gronk and Herdandez were together. Both were extreme impact players, a WR analogy would be like having Megatron and Andre Johnson at WR. As soon as Herdandez was arrested it was the end of the 2 TE era.

TE is a very difficult position to build your offense around, the position is too demanding and the injury rate is extremely high.

Gronk is a rare talent, it shouldn't be assumed that any other TE will be able to create the same sort of mismatches.

Last 5 Superbowl Champions and their TEs
2014 - Seahawks - Carlson
2013 - Ravens - Ed ****son
2012 - Giants - Jake Ballard
2011 - Packers - Donald Lee
2010 - Saints - Jeremy Shockey

A very pedestrian list.

A standout WR or TE would be great but IMO I will take a 70% Gronk (after injury) and some JAGs if there is a decent set of WRs to support the offense.

 

[JoeSixPat]

2014 Patriots Need TEs Not More Wide Receivers

Agreed, but that all depends on who is available

I can't find the link but I think an opposing NFL GM made mention of how the Patriots Gronk/Hernandez duo was nearly unstoppable.

But that's Gronk and Hernandez (who was also a hybrid TE with WR speed). Players like that are tough to find - so much so that Belichick's penchant for draft TEs has become almost a punchline to a joke (at least it was before we saw what he was trying to achieve in Gronk/Hernandez)

Duos like Watson and Graham weren't really good enough to give the offense the impact Belichick wanted.

So while I'd love to see a potent dual TE lineup like we had, going back to guys like Watson and Graham don't do that much for me. Belichick will do his best to assess the talent, and I'm sure will bring in a TE or two - but whether they can replicate the impact of Gronk and Hernandez remains to be seen.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I disagree, the Patriots had a once in a generation set of TEs when both Gronk and Herdandez were together. Both were extreme impact players, a WR analogy would be like having Megatron and Andre Johnson at WR. As soon as Herdandez was arrested it was the end of the 2 TE era.

TE is a very difficult position to build your offense around, the position is too demanding and the injury rate is extremely high.

Gronk is a rare talent, it shouldn't be assumed that any other TE will be able to create the same sort of mismatches.

Last 5 Superbowl Champions and their TEs
2014 - Seahawks - Carlson
2013 - Ravens - Ed ****son
2012 - Giants - Jake Ballard
2011 - Packers - Donald Lee
2010 - Saints - Jeremy Shockey

A very pedestrian list.

A standout WR or TE would be great but IMO I will take a 70% Gronk (after injury) and some JAGs if there is a decent set of WRs to support the offense.

I'm not sure I'd write off the value of a dual TE system - or write off TEs in general as injury prone.

The fact that past Super Bowl winners haven't had a productive TE duo only proves it's not the ONLY way to win a championship.

And the fact that the Patriots didn't win a SB with Gronk and Hernandez in no way invalidates how extremely potent a dual TE offense can be - we saw how dominant their presence can make this offense.

The good news is, assuming Gronk can get and stay healthy, we don't need two pass catching TEs - we just need one. So that's still a possibility (I'd take Gonzales here even for a portion of the season - in fact I think I'd prefer to save him for the playoffs if that's really what he wants)

 

[Deus Irae]

In a "best case"/"pretty damned good case" scenario, the Patriots don't need more WR. In a worst case scenario, they need several. In a "likely case" scenario, they sure as hell could use another WR.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Look at TFB missing a wide open Edelperson in the AFCCG. Looking at the #s shows that Tom's accuracy rules in the short to medium range, but not so much deep downfield. Therefore, another complementary skills TE pass receiver makes some sense. On the other hand it was a unique confluence of events that gave us the Gronk-Prisoner duo. If it was that easy to staff, other teams would have done so.

 

[mgteich]

WIDE RECEIVER
The article says the future is with some of Dobson, Boyce, Thompkins, Harrison and Moe.
The suggestion is that we don't need more. Then they speak as if Amendola is staying (with no decision to be made) and that it is desirable to re-sign Edelman.

Well, if this is the case, we will be making decisions to keep Amendola at $3.75M and to re-sign Edelman. To me, that suggests that we must need receivers or else we would be spending more than $7M on receivers.

I agree that there is considerable argument with regard to our needs if BOTH Amendola and Edelman (and Collie) come back. Some would still want to add a serious downfield threat. Others would not.

TIGHT ENDS
We have a part time all-pro. Belichick likes to use a 2-TE offense. We have used a 3 TE offense in short yardage situations in the past. We need tight ends. I suspect that the draft and a re-signing of Hooman is our direction, but there are lots of possibilities in free agency depending who is actually available.

BOTTOM LINE
If we consider where we are without Edelman, Amendola, Collie and Hooman, I think that it is clear that we need both wide receivers and tight ends. If everyone comes back from last year, we still need a tight end badly. The need is less clear at WR with Amendola, Edelman, Dobson, Boyce, Thompkins, Harrison and Moe coming back.

 

[All22PatsFan]

Bigger need WR vs TE?

First all start with TEs. There is basically no worthy FAs at TE. The draft has a solid crop of TEs, Ebron, Amaro, Nikklas, ASJ and Iowa's TE (Im not going to attempt too spell his name). I really never got the love for Amaro, Im more of an ASJ guy but its tough to evaluate without coaching tape. How many TEs in the nfl really make an impact in pass game? Very few. I think people are convinced that the Patriots are going to get the next AH or just use a more 2 TEs sets. Im not convinced. I would like the Pats to use a 3rd- 4th rounder on a TE however. Aguy that could backup Gronk and maybe add a better version of Matthew Mulligan. The Pats need pass catchers in general.

At WR the draft seems to be loaded and there are some interesting WRs in FA. Also Mike Williams could be traded to NE and his cap is better then some would think.

Right now are WR\TE depth looks like this
X: Dobson, Harrison
Z: Thomkins, Boyce
Slot WR: Amendola, Moe
TE: Gronkowski
I don't see Thomkins as a starter, his inability to get open was really concerning to me. He could develop into a reliable backup though. Dobson is a starter to me and Boyce hasn't played enough for me to give a form opinion.

I guess my plan would be to
Draft a WR in the first-2nd round and add a guy like Donald Jones
Draft a 3rd-4th round TE and add a Blocking TE

 

[chasa]

Re: Bigger need WR vs TE?

TE and its not even a close discussion

 

[Huckleberry1]

Re: Bigger need WR vs TE?

TE. They need another WR, especially if Edelman moves on, but they need a high quality starting TE to pair with Gronkowski to run their offense the way they want to run it, I also believe that the two TE offense is necessary to beat the best defenses in football as a run game or an offense reliant on the WR's won't get you past a team like Seattle, and the Super Bowl proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt.


One of the top 3 TE's will be there when they pick and i would most likely take one in the first. Re-sign Edelman or go get a good WR in free agency and add one in the 2nd -4th rounds of the draft.

 

[SalemPats]

Re: Bigger need WR vs TE?

I think a great pass-catching TE is very hard to find. We need a physical outside WR to compliment Edelman on the inside (hopefully we re-sign him).

 

[cstjohn17]

Re: Bigger need WR vs TE?

I vote WR, it is an easier position to find talent as well.

Finding a good TE is difficult, how many good ones are in the league? Gronk, Graham, Davis, Gates , Julius Thomas, Witten and then a bunch of maybes.

Best bet it to hope Gronk comes back healthy and then draft a player in later rounds to replace Hooman (maybe with a little more upside).

 

[YearbookCurfew]

Re: Bigger need WR vs TE?

I say Tight End. We need someone who can help block and catch like Gronk.

 

[Tunescribe]

Re: Bigger need WR vs TE?

Drafting a WR in the first or second round would be a disaster. This team needs DL, TE, OL and safety. Fantasy football geeks will just have to suffer through this draft.

 

[BobDigital]

Re: Bigger need WR vs TE?

TE. Brady can move you down the field with smurfs all day but to score in the red zone you need big men. We need another big TE in there if Gronk is out.

Would I be upset if they took a WR over TE? Only if it is another smallish WR. If it is say; Kelvin Benjamin (who is 6'5) then I am fine with it as it is just another way to accomplish the same thing. However for our particular offense I think TE is a better fit.

The key is they need to draft at least 1 offensive difference maker in the skill position that can also play a style of offense (physical) that works in the playoffs.