Receivers - Who Ends Up Being the Surprise?

[Ian]

Obviously we know Edelman should hopefully have a good year, but given the questions, who do you think surprises everybody receiver-wise (not the tight ends) and has a good season? I'd like to think Harry, but I'm curious to see if Gunner pulls an Edelman and starts evolving into a better player. Given the talk during camp, I'm intrigued to see if he's active this Sunday and how he looks.

 

[PatsBoy12]

Gunner!!! I'm hoping for Amendola 1.5.

What I think we'll see is that all of the receivers from last season will take a step forward, even if only slight. Why I believe that is because the O will be less precise and there will be a lot more improvised stuff with Cam... scramble drills. That benefits younger guys and masks deficiencies in route running, zone reads, etc. Look at what a guy like Ted Ginn Jr. was able to do with Cam, for example. Also, Cam's presence means the Pats will see a lot more zone coverages, as teams will not want to play exclusively man. They did with Brady because they knew he was a statue in the pocket. Lastly, the young guys will be less intimidated than they were last season.

 

[italian pat patriot]

Harry...i feel he will hv a great season...

 

[borg]

Will Bill and Josh be keen on allowing a 60% passer to throw down field to a pass catching core composed largely of neophytes with separation issues?
Doubtful
Expect an exceptionally high volume of screen passes similar to the early Brady years.
Who could benefit most from such a game plan....
My new guy pick who was a very productive LOS pass catcher in college: Dalton Keene.
The kid has some AHern wiggle

 

[Taco]

My vote is for Gunner. He seems to have had a more consistent camp then Harry did.

 

[NYCPATS4LIFE]

Gunner!!! I'm hoping for Amendola 1.5.

What I think we'll see is that all of the receivers from last season will take a step forward, even if only slight. Why I believe that is because the O will be less precise and there will be a lot more improvised stuff with Cam... scramble drills. That benefits younger guys and masks deficiencies in route running, zone reads, etc. Look at what a guy like Ted Ginn Jr. was able to do with Cam, for example. Also, Cam's presence means the Pats will see a lot more zone coverages, as teams will not want to play exclusively man. They did with Brady because they knew he was a statue in the pocket. Lastly, the young guys will be less intimidated than they were last season.

Why would teams play zone against receivers that haven’t showed the ability to beat man coverage? I like cam bu the guy’s over 30. This isn’t young cam in terms of the scrambling. I expect miami to play a lot of man coverage on sunday.

 

[jah]

I think Byrd might be our #3 or even 2. That might only mean 20-40 catches though.

 

[PatsBoy12]

Huh? So you think because Cam is 31 he's not going to scramble? He's not going to be a threat to run? Brett Favre was in his late 30's and still running. Rodgers same thing. Bg Ben same thing. He may not run as much, sure. But his entire game isn't going to change because he's in his early 30's. Of course teams will man up, but I bet it won't be nearly as much as we saw with Brady at QB.

 

[luuked]

Why would teams play zone against receivers that haven’t showed the ability to beat man coverage? I like cam bu the guy’s over 30. This isn’t young cam in terms of the scrambling. I expect miami to play a lot of man coverage on sunday.

So your entire argument about him being effective on his feet hangs on the fact that he is 31 ?

He will not have to run a lot to affect how Miami will play defense. A couple of third down conversions and the added threat in the redzone is enough to swing games.

People get way to hung up on this detail. Especially if our normal run game can will be closer to its 2018 levels than 2019 levels.

 

[Bill Lee]

This is one thing that sucks about having no preseason games, we have very little idea where any of these players are these days.

On the other hand, it was a good decision to not have the games. If there was an outbreak during preseason it'd be pretty easy to just chuck the entire season. Once the season starts, it's going to be hard to shut down the season, I think. We'd need to see multiple teams having outbreaks and the virus spreading from team to team for that to happen, IMO.

 

[luuked]

For me Gunner is already the WR surprise of the year.

Went from being someone who'd most probable end up on the PS to one of the few players creating hype among the media guys during camp. Very reminiscent of Sudfeld in 2013. Hopefully his story will end better.

 

[jmt57]

Damiere Byrd.

I can see opposing defenses stacking the line, due to not respecting the Patriots WR and TE corps. That would give a player with speed - Byrd - single man coverage that he can exploit.

 

[Ross12]

Gunner got a lot of hype in camp. I'm also interested in Byrd, but not because of the deep speed necessarily - reporters said they had issues connecting with the deep passes throughout camp. But when they ran Byrd on short and intermediate routes, he burned Gilmore AND Jackson more than once....

I think that they'll use their TEs a lot too, and Cam will naturally target Asiasi and Keene a fair bit.

 

[Nunchucks]

Why would teams play zone against receivers that haven’t showed the ability to beat man coverage? I like cam bu the guy’s over 30. This isn’t young cam in terms of the scrambling. I expect miami to play a lot of man coverage on sunday.

Man coverage is not as good against the run or a qb who can run.

 

[Nunchucks]

Harry is going to slam the doubters!

 

[captain stone]

Kris Wilkerson...Production (though at a lower level) plus Athleticism...

 

[Jimke]

Kris Wilkerson...Production (though at a lower level) plus Athleticism...

This is the only wide receiver signed this year with any kind of a resume.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Why would teams play zone against receivers that haven’t showed the ability to beat man coverage? I like cam bu the guy’s over 30. This isn’t young cam in terms of the scrambling. I expect miami to play a lot of man coverage on sunday.

That will be great to watch and see - Miami's defensive plan - zone versus man. We know Mason and Thuney can block, but how well will Wynn, and especially Eluemunor, block in the running game? Let's hope Wynn takes another big step forward. I like Johnson and he is experienced enough to shine. And I think Cam can still run well enough, my question is whether his shoulder is "good to go" and will it last. I think Cam likes NE because they are not expecting him to do everything and telling him to trust his teammates.

Gunner will do well, but Cam has traditionally liked the bigger receivers like Asiasi, Harry, and maybe Myers. I am not sure how accurate Cam is so a big catch radius with a bigger receiver might help . So I am guessing one of the bigger receivers.

I think Edelman is pretty banged up. Off season knee and shoulder surgery are still not 100% is my guess. Shoulder surgery can take a long time to fully heal - I think Edelman's best days are behind him. With 4 receivers on the practice squad I imagine BB is looking for another 1 or 2 guys to fill in next year because Edelman is finishing up. Brady, Gronk and Edelman all have about 2 more years left at a diminished level of play ,