Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Touch Down Thursday: Cam Arrives; New England Patriots Next X-Receiver? - 7/23/2020

Episode Date: July 23, 2020

Cam Newton was spotted at Boston’s Logan Airport on Wednesday evening. The New England Patriots’ new quarterback has arrived in New England. While much is being said about Newton's potential supporting cast, host Mike D’Abate provides his thoughts on the Pats’ expected corps of wide receivers in 2020. Lastly, he provides his insight on who might emerge the victor in the battle to be New England’s next great X-receiver. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Patriots fans, you are now locked in to the Locked On Patriots Podcast. I'm going to show you how to make a beautiful and beautiful flower. I'm going to use a small flower pot. I'm going to use a small pot Hello to all of you Foxborough faithful. It's Touchdown Thursday here on the Lockdown Patriots podcast. As always, your daily home for news notes and analysis infused with the occasional opinion on your six-time Super Bowl champions, the

New England Patriots. My name is Mike DeBate, your host of the Locked On Patriots podcast, which of course is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And folks, because it's your team every day, that means your questions, comments, and feedback always welcomed, greatly appreciated. Feel free to share that feedback anytime by reaching out to me and following me on Twitter Thank you. Hear me correctly, Pats Nation. Today is Touchdown Thursday. And besides my love for alliteration, I named it Touchdown Thursday for a couple of reasons, and I'll explain what I mean by that. First, I will be continuing our training camp primer here on Locked On Patriots with taking

an in-depth look at the wide receiver position. Now, this is one of the most high-profile positions on the Patriots roster. It's also one of the most heavily scrutinized. The Patriots definitely had their struggles at wide receiver in 2019. We're hoping that 2020 leads to better production out of the position. And in that vein, folks, I will be sharing with you my thoughts on who are the roster locks at wide receiver, who might be guys on the bubble, who are the likely candidates on the chopping block, and last but certainly not least, who might find a home on the Patriots

practice squad. But bottom line, folks, we're hoping that the wide receivers that are on the Patriots roster produce a lot of touchdowns. Yeah, okay, I get it. That's a little weak in terms of calling today Touchdown Thursday. After all, wide receivers, wide outs, that's more of a W thing, more of a Wednesday thing. But it's Thursday, and we do the best we can.

But sometimes the football gods and the alliterative gods come together, and they provide you with material. And that happened last night when Channel 7 News in Boston reported that Cam Newton had officially touched down in New England. See, folks, they bring it all together. But in any case, the Patriots' newest quarterback was seen walking through Logan Airport in Boston around 7 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday. And for those of you that have seen the video, you know Cam, looking pretty stylish, was

walking through Logan and basically told 7 News he is ecstatic to be playing with the team this season. Now, he's already acting very Patriot-like, folks. Newton apparently explained that he didn't want to talk extensively to reporters, and you know that's making Bill Belichick proud. But again, he did have a simple message for Patriots fans, and he said, quote, No disrespect to nobody, but I'm extremely ecstatic. I'm not talking. That's pretty much it.

Go Pats. Thank you. And if you haven't seen the Channel 7 video, it's all over social media, folks. I recommend you go checking it out. You can hear comments from fellow airport passengers in the background saying things like you're going to do great things, Cam. Good luck. Well wishes like that.

And to me, that's a good sign that Patriots fans are taking a liking to Cam. And that seems to indicate great things for a budding relationship between Patriots fans and their newest quarterback. Now officially, the Patriots are still saying this is going to be a legitimate starting quarterback competition. Cam will be competing with both Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer for the starting job. But if you saw yesterday's hype video with Cam throwing passes to Julian Edelman, you'll know this does not look like a guy that plans on coming here to back up anybody. Now, I'm not saying that Jarrett Stidham can't possibly win the job here, folks. I was up on the Stidham stump for a good number of weeks and months.

I'm still very high on Jarrett, and I think he can be a very solid quarterback in the NFL. My biggest concern when the Patriots signed Cam was his health. When you have injuries to your throwing shoulder and, of course, your feet, that can have a pretty adverse effect on your performance on the field. And I've been vocal about this many times right here on Locked On Patriots. But folks, what fills me with a lot of optimism when it comes to Cam is what he's posting on social media, these hype videos. The first thing you're going to notice about these videos is the aesthetics and the audio.

Choosing great music, the black and white, they really are impressive hype videos, and they're doing exactly what they should be doing, creating positive hype. But I challenge you to keep a sharper eye out when watching. When I watch these videos, I'm looking at Cam's mechanics, and they're solid. His arm looks strong, doesn't appear to be favoring his shoulder or his feet, his knees look solid, he's making great cuts, and looks to be in phenomenal shape. Seeing that makes me confident that Cam is going to be able to read a defense, make a quick decision, gun the ball downfield when he sees an opening to hit a wide receiver that's running a pretty good route, but at the same time, his health and his quick movements are showing me that he can roll out, alleviate the pressure in the pocket, and take that option

to run if he feels A, it's his best option, or B, if there's simply nothing else there. It still allows him to make his reads and make the throws downfield easier, folks. But what I see from Cam is exemplary mobility, and that's going to allow the Patriots to incorporate these run-pass options, these RPOs, into their offense. And even though opposing defenses are going to know it's coming, they're going to attempt to bring the heat on Cam, force him into making mistakes,

especially because he hasn't played all that much in game settings in the last couple of seasons. The mobility that he's showing me in his hype videos tells me that Cam Newton is ready for that, and I for one am very excited about seeing what Cam Newton can do on the practice field, especially when it comes to developing relationships with his wide receivers. He's already doing a great job of that working out with Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu, and Nakiel Harry. But does that make these three wide receivers roster locks for 2020? Well, I for one think the answer to that question is pretty easy, but I'm not going to give

away my response to it just yet. And as the great Don would say, let me give you my reasons. First, in order to give the Patriots wide receiver depth chart its due, we'll go into who I feel are roster locks, players that are potentially on the roster bubble, and who I believe are destined for life on the practice squad, or maybe even away from Foxborough altogether. But we've been doing positional battles all week long here on Locked On Patriots, and that will continue today. While it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that Julian Edelman is going to be your number

one slot receiver, and also play some of the Z-Roll wide receiver, there's not a lot beyond him that's an absolute roster certainty. The Patriots may have some talent at the wide receiver position. In my opinion, a lot more talent on this roster than some of the national pundits are willing to give them credit for, but that's a conversation for another day, folks. But there's not a whole lot of clarity as to where it all stacks up, especially when it comes to the role of your primary wide receiver or your ex-wide receiver. Well, in the positional battle spotlight here today on the pod,

that's exactly what I'm going to be breaking down. So sit tight, folks. Settle in because Touchdown Thursday is about to take on a wide receiver flavor. All things wide outs when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, once again, it is Touchdown Thursday here on the Locked On Patriots podcast with a special training camp primer look at the wide receiver position. Earlier in today's pod, I hinted that I would be giving you my thoughts on a potential positional battle at the wide receiver position, primarily that X wide receiver role.

To me, that is going to be the most intriguing positional battle heading into training camp when it comes to the receivers. But in order to know who's going to be competing for that spot, you have to know the players that are going to be comprising the depth chart for the position. So I figured we'd start there today. And judging by my last count, the Patriots have 13, count them folks, 13 players that have wide receiver next to their name when it comes to the Patriots' positional depth charts. At the most, considering how this roster is going to shake out, I'd say six of them have a legitimate shot at making the final roster this year. Maybe seven if things get interesting, but ultimately that means that a lot of these players will either be destined for life on

the practice squad in 2020, or possibly being jettisoned from Foxborough altogether. I'll start with the players that I believe to be roster locks, and I hinted at this in the previous segment, but I don't think there's any surprises here, folks. Julian Edelman, Nikhil Harry, Mohamed Sanu. None of these guys are going anywhere. I know there's a lot of hype surrounding Nikhil Harry and even Mohamed Sanu, and look, they're earning that hype. Again, the off-season hype videos show that both Nikhil and Mohamed are in good shape

and ready to play. That's a great sign for the New England Patriots. But I don't think there's anyone out there that still questions whether or not Julian Edelman is the number one wide receiver on this team. Edelman may have turned 34 in the offseason, but from what we saw in him in 2019, he showed little sign of decline in 2019. Any problems that he had were injury-related, and I've said numerous times here on Locked On Patriots, at one point in the season, Julian was battling shoulder, rib, and knee injuries.

Any one of those injuries would have put other players on the shelf. Edelman was playing through all three of them, and you can make the argument that at one point, he was playing through all three of them simultaneously. But at the end of the day, Julian looks to be healthy, and he's also playing with that proverbial Foxborough chip on his shoulder. Don't roll your eyes when I say that, folks. I know a lot of my colleagues in the media say, oh, that chip doesn't exist. Who needs a chip?

Players all play with chips on their shoulder. Well, I counter that argument by saying that a player like Julian, who has pretty much defied the odds his entire career, has a little extra motivation in his game this year, maybe to prove that he's not just a byproduct of a certain greatest quarterback of all time that's now trespassing down in Tampa Bay. Don't get angry with me, folks. You know I still love Tom today, tomorrow, and always. But Julian is still here in New England, and he wants to prove that he's not only the

number one option on this team, but also that he's one of the elite players at his position in the entire NFL. Julian's put in solid work this offseason with both Cam Newton and with Jarrett Stidham, two players that I believe will utilize him as their primary option. I saw some, fans and media alike, that made the argument that once Cam Newton came to town, maybe Julian was going to be a little more irrelevant in this offense than he has been in years past. I don't think that's the case at all. In fact, I think that only solidifies Julian's position on this team. Go back and take a look at the ways in which Cam Newton was able to utilize

a slot receiver like Steve Smith Sr. That was a pretty productive relationship when they played together in Carolina. If for any reason Jarrett Stidham gets the keys to the kingdom this year, you know he can utilize guys in the slot. Take a look at Will Hastings, and we'll discuss Will in a little bit, but both of these guys are capable of utilizing slot receivers to the best of their ability, and Julian isn't limited to just his position in the slot. He can also line up at the Z position and even be productive on the outside. So when it comes to roster locks, Julian Edelman is probably as safe of a bet as you can get, folks.

Maybe even safer than Cam himself. But we're going to get to the quarterbacks in a couple of days, folks. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Today is all about the wideouts. And if Julian is your stone-cold roster lock, then I would say Nikhil Harry is pretty close right behind him. Look, the Patriots invested a first-round pick in Nikhil in 2019. He's not going anywhere. Nikhil's struggles last year were as a result of the late start he got due to injury, but Josh McDaniels tried to manufacture ways to get him involved. He couldn't quite get on the

same page as Tom Brady, for whatever reason you want to give, folks. I do believe that Nikhil would have been a lot more productive last year had he not been injured. It would have given him the time during preseason to develop that relationship with Tom Brady, and I think Tom would have trusted him a little bit more. Gratuitous Godfather quote coming up here, folks. Making your bones in the middle part of the season

when there's already an established cadence to your offense is very difficult to do, especially for a rookie. So as the Patriots devise their offensive schemes this year, I believe that Josh McDaniels, Bill Belichick, and the Patriots offensive brain trust are going to put Nikhil in the best position possible to utilize his size to cause matchup problems for defenses. That sounds an awful lot like the Patriots might be setting Nakheel up to be an X-Factor this year. Yeah, folks, I know, my Dr. Evo was not as good as my godfather, but we'll get back to that X-Roll in a moment. Joining Nakheel Harry on my list of roster locks this year is Mohamed Sanu. And a lot of people, including myself when the offseason began,

thought that Sanu's position on this roster might be a little bit shaky, especially after Tom Brady left. After all, Sanu is a savvy veteran, he carries a little bit of a cap hit, and there was still a lot of thought, and at the time, folks, it was rational thought, that the Patriots might be looking to more of a youth movement at a lot of their positions, meaning that Mohamed Sanu might be on the chopping block. Once Cam Newton arrived in New England, to me, those concerns went squarely out the window. Based on what we've seen from some of these social media hype videos that are out there, Muhammad looks good, and I think he's primed to take over the wide receiver three role as a Z-slot hybrid. Look, when Sanu joined the Patriots midway through last season,

he immediately filled that number two wide receiver role alongside Julian Edelman. He was looking pretty good, believe it or not, in that role, at least for the first game that he played. He caught 10 passes for 81 yards and a score against the Baltimore Ravens, suffered the high ankle sprain in Week 11 against Philadelphia, and really wasn't the same player after that. But I think Sanu is up for a big year, and because he's not going to be called upon to be that solid number two option next to Julian Edelman, I think that role goes to Nikhil Harry. He looks like he's developing a pretty nice relationship with both Jared Stidham and, of course, with Cam Newton. So because of his talent and experience, my belief is that Mohamed Sanu doesn't have to worry about his job security this year. He is my third roster lock on the Patriots. But beyond Edelman, Harry,

and Sanu, I don't think there's a roster lock when it comes to the Patriots' wide receivers. Now, don't get me wrong, folks. That doesn't mean that I don't believe there are players that remain on this depth chart that don't have a very good chance of making the roster. In fact, just the opposite. But I do think it's premature to consider anyone but Edelman, Harry, and Sanu as having a guaranteed roster spot. That's why the next few players that I'll discuss I believe to be firmly on the bubble, and we'll start with Jacoby Myers. Jacoby was the unquestioned media darling coming out of training camp last year. Showed great flashes, and in the preseason, showed like he could be a pretty solid wide receiver.

And as an undrafted free agent, definitely turned some heads. In his rookie campaign, the Pats used Myers both on the outside and in the slot, and despite not putting up gaudy numbers, I think he generally responded pretty well to being moved around the formation. Now, in 2020, if he's going to earn a roster spot in the Patriots, he's going to likely again be employed in a similar fashion to what he was in 2019. He's going to compete for that role as the Z receiver and try to carve out a regular spot in the rotation alongside Edelman, Harry, and Sanu. Overall, I thought Myers was a pretty

solid route runner. He was physical, pretty sudden in his breaks, and I think he fared pretty well at attacking leverage. He had some communication pretty sudden in his breaks, and I think he fared pretty well at attacking leverage. He had some communication errors with Tom Brady, had some concentration issues that led to a few drops. But Jacoby is not going to be relied upon to be an every-down option. And because of the experience he has in the system, I'd say he's a pretty good bet to make this team. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the next wide receiver

I'm going to speak about. And folks, this is painful. Anyone who knows my social media habits knows I want the Patriots desperately to once again make this man a gunner. Yes, I'm talking about wide receiver Gunnar Roschowski. And despite my love of that meme from the Mel Brooks classic, yes, classic folks, I said it, Spaceballs, I think Gunnar might have a little bit of an uphill battle this year.

I will say this, he's versatile. Something I don't think he gets enough credit for is that last year he was the team's leader in all-purpose yards throughout the preseason schedule. He gained 289 yards with 213 of them coming in the return game. That's where Gunnar Oshelski is at his best. But this year, he's going to have some company in that department. Don't forget, Kyle Duggar is a specialist in the return game. Adrian Phillips, the free agent safety coming over from the Chargers, has experience in the return game. Patriots have some options there this year that they didn't have last year.

That's no knock to Gunner. He came in, did a great job in doing what the Patriots needed him to do. But if the Patriots decide that they have enough on the roster to be able to handle both the punt and kick return duties, I think at the end of the day, there might be other options on this roster at the wide receiver position that provide the Patriots with a little more pop. It's still not impossible that he'll make this roster, folks. If he does find a spot on this team, I expect him to be used primarily as a backup slot receiver,

maybe even split out wide as a Z option, but I believe he's facing more competition in the role this year, and assuming his experience is not enough to put him over the top, Gunnar may end up headed for the practice squad or maybe even out of Foxborough. Ah, perish the thought. What am I going to do without that meme, folks? But the other couple of wide receivers that I have on the Patriots roster bubble this year are a couple of savvy veterans. First up is Demir Bird, who the Patriots picked up as a free agent formerly of the Arizona Cardinals. Now, Bird is another guy that could toss his hat into the mix of being a possible kick returner.

He's very good at doing that. Did so with the Carolina Panthers, also handled those duties when he was with the Arizona Cardinals. But last year with the Cardinals, he also proved that he could handle receiving duties. Bird averaged 11.2 yards per reception, and that's the most he had in a season since his rookie year. That proves that he can spread the field, and also proves that he can make things happen after the catch.

Bird has got blazing speed, and as I've said previously here on Locked On Patriots, I was very high on him from the moment that the Patriots signed him. To me, what gives him greater job security is that he's played in Carolina alongside Cam Newton. Bird may not have been Cam's number one option in the Carolina offense, but these two do know each other. They're comfortable with one another, and at the end of the day, all the intangibles that Bird brings to the table may be buoyed by the fact that his former teammate is now the Patriots' possible number one option

at quarterback. The last member of the bubble group that I think has a decent shot at making the final roster this year is a free agent formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and that's Marquise Lee. Obviously, the biggest concern with Marquise is his health. If he's healthy, his upside could be tremendous, and he may be a welcome addition to the Patriots roster. Much like Bird, Marquise Lee is a speedster. He proved his capability in both 2016 and 2017 before going down with knee injuries. Had 116 catches, 1,553 yards, and six touchdowns during those two seasons. But outside of those two years, and a rookie season in which he played 13 games, he's missed a ton of time due to injuries. Missed six games in 2015, didn't play at all in 2018 because of an ACL injury, and he only played six games last season as he battled a shoulder injury. If Lee is able to stay healthy, I think he has the talent to be a

pretty reliable receiver in this system. But that's a pretty big if, and if he's unable to avoid injury or just doesn't perform at a high enough level, the Patriots won't have cost themselves that much salary cap space by cutting Marquise Lee free. Of the two, I would say Bird gets the nod over Lee right now. But that could change when we see what these players have on the field. Now before we get to the rest of the roster hopefuls, one player that we haven't mentioned who's technically a wide receiver but he's best known for his special teams prowess is Matthew Slater. I don't think anyone will argue that Slater is a roster lock. However, I consider him more a specialist rather than a wide receiver,

even though technically the depth chart will list him there. I just didn't want anyone to think that I had forgotten about him. I consider him just as much of a roster lock as Julian Edelman or Devin McCourty or any of the Patriots core. But there are some youngsters on this roster that hope to carve out a niche here in New England. It's theoretically possible that one of these players could show enough in training camp to make Bill Belichick strongly consider them, and I think there are a couple on my list that will stand out, but first we'll start with the 2019 practice squatters, Quincy Adebayo and Devin Ross.

Adebayo has some NFL experience. He spent time on both the Ravens and the Jets practice squads before coming here to New England last year. He's been used as both an outside receiver and a slot option during his time in the league, and he does have the ability to line up all over the formation. He has considerable special teams experience as well, but he's not a return guy. His experience comes more on kickoff and punt coverage. Ross, on the other hand, has played mostly outside at the pro level. He does have some experience lining up in the slot or as an H-back.

On the practice squad last year, the Patriots opted to use him in a Z-receiver type role within its scheme, or possibly as a smaller X in the mold of like a Demir Bird, or even former Patriot Philip Dorsett. That being said, I think that both Ross and Adebayo definitely have an uphill battle at making a roster spot for the Patriots this year. If they choose, I think they could have solid spots on the practice squad once again. But the Patriots also employ four undrafted rookie free agents on the wide receiver core. And depending on how quickly roster cutdowns occur, folks, we might see some of these guys jettisoned before you even finish listening to this podcast. Start with Sean Riley out of

Syracuse, primarily a return specialist, but does bring some skill set to the table. You also have Isaiah Zuber, who finished his career at Kansas State. He was in the top four for catches, yards, and receiving touchdowns. But the two undrafted rookie free agents that intrigue me are Will Hastings out of Auburn and Jeff Thomas out of Miami. Now, in my recent roster prediction right here on Locked On Patriots, I predicted that both Hastings and Thomas would make the final product. Well, the addition of

Cam Newton and the likely cut down for rosters, plus the elimination of the preseason, has me rethinking that a little bit. I think both of these guys are going to face a much steeper climb to a roster spot than I had previously anticipated. There is no denying the upside for both of these guys, especially Jeff Thomas. Assuming he could leave his off-the-field issues behind him, I think he's the undrafted rookie free agent that could keep the streak alive in New England this year. Thomas is an explosive playmaker, and that in conjunction with the speed he can bring to the New England offense, well that's going to be a badly needed element of attack that was missing in 2019. I've been extremely high on Will Hastings,

and my opinion of his game and his prowess has not waned one minute, folks. My opinion on Hastings' position on the roster did change a bit with the addition of Cam Newton. Don't forget, folks, one of the reasons why I was giving Hastings the nod over some of the other wide receivers on this depth chart is because of his relationship and synergy with Jarrett Stidham. Jarrett could still end up being the starting quarterback. If that's the case, Hastings may end up sneaking onto this roster. But if he's not, and the Patriots end up giving the ball to Cam Newton,

you have to think that they might be better off going with one of the other veteran options, especially in a year where undrafted rookie free agents are not going to have preseasons, or OTAs, or minicamps to show off their skills. So while some of these wide receivers will have to settle for practice squad spots, or possibly settle for a new home in 2020, Patriots wide receiver core is looking a lot more promising this year than it did in 2019. But one of the things that they've been missing is that X wide receiver, that number one option on the outside.

Well, in just a moment, Patriots fans, I will delve into the X wide receiver role. Who on the roster could ascend to that level? And who might that player be competing with? All this and more when the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. Patriots fans, we are just days away from the beginning of NFL training camp, including that of your New England Patriots. And while it might be a little while before we start seeing meaningful action on the football field, here on Locked On Patriots, we're taking a little bit of a deeper dive into positional depth charts

that we did a few weeks ago here on the pod, and looking at certain positions that might end up yielding some positional battles. And today, we're taking a look at the wide receivers. Now, in the previous segment, I lent my wisdom and counsel as to who I believe to be roster locks, bubble candidates, and players that are essentially playing for the practice squad are bust. And while it's safe to say that guys like Edelman, Sanu, and Harry are roster locks, Myers, Bird, and Lee are pretty much good bets, and a couple of undrafteds like Jeff Thomas and Will Hastings could open some eyes,

the roles that most of the wide receivers will play are pretty much clear-cut. Let's face it, the Patriots have been one of the most successful NFL franchises at employing strong slot receivers. Troy Brown, Wes Welker, Julian Edelman, that's a pretty impressive trio, I rest my case. But one of the areas in which they've had more struggles than success is probably the X-slot receiver position. And this is a positional battle that I've had my eyes on lately, and I was so happy to see that my good friends over at Pat's Pulpit of SB Nation

also had their sharp eye on this battle as well. So first, I just want to give all of you a background as to exactly what defines an X receiver. You've heard me use X receiver, Y receiver, Z receiver a lot of times throughout this podcast. Don't worry if you're confused. There's still a lot of confusion as to exactly what X, Y, and Z receivers truly are, and that's really understandable. Bottom line, wide receivers are commonly referred to as X or Z receivers. The X receiver, or the split end as he was formerly called, normally aligns to the weak side of the formation. The Z receiver, on the other hand, who's also been

called the flanker, he aligns to the strength of the formation. In more simpler terms, folks, the X is primarily the outside receiver, the Z could be an outside option or someone that lines up primarily in the slot. Now you might also hear some analysts refer to a Y receiver. That Y role usually is given to the tight end. However, it could be replaced by another receiver. In that case, you wouldn't see them referred to as the tight end. They would be called the Y receiver. And again, if we're looking at 2019 in a vacuum, folks, the Patriots got some pretty good production out of its slot and its Z receivers, primarily Julian Edelman and Mohamed Sanu, and even Jacoby Myers to an extent.

But the X position remained a work in progress all season long. And there are a lot of reasons for that, whether it be injury, inexperience, off-field issues. Antonio Brown, anyone? Yeah, remember that? Yeah, the Patriots remember it too. But for whatever reason, this group as a whole failed to consistently get on the same page as Tom Brady. And because of that, they couldn't provide him with the help he needed to challenge opposing defenses through the air. This year, especially with a mobile quarterback like Cam Newton or Jarrett Stidham, the Patriots are going to want to utilize that

X role a lot more. Here in New England, that role has been shared by a number of different receivers. Some examples on recent Patriots rosters that might give you a better picture as to exactly what an X receiver is, well, the gold standard would be Randy Moss, but Chris Hogan, Cordero Patterson, Brandon Cooks, these have been typical X wide receivers. Last year, the two most primary options, or at least what the Patriots hoped would be their primary options in the X role, were Philip Dorsett and Josh Gordon. Josh, again, like Antonio Brown, off-field issues prevented him from ever being what they hoped he would. This year, I think the Patriots have three primary candidates on their roster that could fill this role. Nakheel Harry, Damir Bird, and Marquise Lee. Now again, I think you're likely looking at two

players forming this role this year. I've already gone out on a limb and told you I think Nikhil Harry is going to be a roster lock, so obviously he'd be one of my choices, and a primary choice for the X role in the offense this year. But what about Bird and Lee? I kind of tipped my hand in the last segment as well on that. So rather than keep you in suspense as to what my choices would be, let me give you a little background as to how I arrived at my decisions of Nikhil Harry and Demir Bird being the primary

X options in the Patriots wide receiver core this year. To be a solid X role receiver in this league, you have to be able to read coverages properly to make the right decisions on the team's option routes. From that point, it's about being in the right place at the right time. If receivers can't develop chemistry with a quarterback and earn their trust, they're going to have a hard time in New England's system. We've seen this happen throughout the Tom Brady era. It's led to the false narrative that, oh, Tom doesn't trust rookies. He doesn't like new guys in this system. That's not only statistically ridiculous, but it's also

logistically ridiculous. Players that, quote, couldn't cut it in New England were just never able to master New England's system. Plain and simple. If you weren't in the right spot, you were not going to get the ball. That was true under Tom Brady, and guess what folks, it's going to be true under either Cam Newton, Jared Stidham, or Brian Hoyer. It's simply the way Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels run their offense. But as important as it is to be in the right place at the right time, if you don't catch the ball, you're not going to see it.

A great X receiver requires great hands, and Nakheel Harry showed some positive development in this area during his rookie season. I watched Nakiel make some very impressive back shoulder catches and outleaping defenders when he was targeted during the preseason and during practice last year. There's no denying that he needs to be more consistent in this area, but I think his contested catch ability is something that sets him apart, and it's also an area that I expect him to make great strides this year. A solid X receiver runs his fair share of slants and other short to immediate in-breaking routes,

but he's got to be able to get down the field and win one-on-one matchups. This was an area that Josh Gordon excelled in, and I know the Patriots hoped that he could fill that void, but I think Nikhil Harry looked pretty good fighting for contested catches at times last year. He times his jumps very well, and he is certainly not afraid to take a hit. Again, experience and consistency are things he'll work on in training camp, but because of his prowess in both of these areas, I think he's shaping up quite nicely to be that ex-receiver for the Patriots this year. I know, folks, right now it seems like I'm singing a lot of praises of Nikhil Harry. Well, that's simply because he's got the chemistry with the quarterback, the hands, the contested catch ability, the physicality, and the technique that's required to be a great X receiver. But you're probably

thinking to yourself, what about the others? Well, here's where Demir Bird gets the nod from me. Maybe even over a guy like Nikhil Harry, and that's positional versatility. New England puts a premium on versatility in every aspect of the football game, whether it be offense, defense, special teams. Bill Belichick and his coaching staff love versatile players. The ex-receiver role is no different. Nikhil Harry showed that he can find success as a ball carrier last year a little bit when he gained 56 yards on six carries. Yeah, the Patriots used him very similar to that Cordero Patterson type role that provided

the Patriots with some success in 2018. But the reason why I give Demir Bird the nod when it comes to positional versatility is his blazing speed and his ability to be used as a kick returner. If the Patriots want to use Nikhil Harry primarily in a receiving role, Demir Bird could actually take the ball out of the backfield and carry it pretty adeptly. He's got the speed to do it, and he has the technique to do it. Now, as I said in the previous segment, when healthy, Marquise Lee is a pretty good speedster himself and definitely brings a lot of experience and a lot of football acumen to the table.

Judging by what we see out of Marquise in training camp, he could challenge Demir Bird for that spot and maybe even beat him out for it. But in my final analysis, I just think Demir Bird is coming off of a career year. He has the speed, the versatility to be able to spread the field, and also be that Swiss Army knife type player that the Patriots absolutely love to employ. There is no question in my mind that Lee has the talent, but again, his injury history is going to have me listing him with a question mark until I believe what I see on the field. Maybe that's a bit unfair to Marquise, but again, folks, we live in the world of educated athletic speculation.

And one thing I think that we can all agree on this year is that the Patriots not only have a greater number of options on the table this year when it comes to wide receiver, but they have a great deal more optimism and I think a great deal more promise when it comes to the 2020 season. So there you have it, Patriots fans. Nakheel Harry and Damir Bird are my 1 and 1A X receiver options for the New England Patriots in this year's 2020 roster. But what do you think of the Pats wideouts this year? Am I selling short Marquise Lee? Are one of the undrafted rookie free agents more likely to make this roster than I'm letting on?

And is there a receiver or two among my roster locks or bubble hopefuls that you believe will be on the outside looking in when the Patriots start their season in September? I always love hearing your feedback, so please be sure to drop the show a line at LO underscore Patriots on Twitter and let us know who you think might be the Patriots' best option when it comes to pass catchers in the 2020 season. As for me, I will be back tomorrow to close out the week in style here on the Locked On Patriots podcast with a very special guest. One of the best X's and O's analyst when it comes to the Patriots beat, and in my opinion, really anywhere in NFL media.

If you want to know who I'm talking about, folks, please be sure not to miss tomorrow's episode or any episode of Locked on Patriots. So please be sure to follow us on Spotify, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, download us wherever you get your podcasts. And of course, you can always listen to Locked On Patriots right on your very own smart device. How do you do so? Very simple. Just ask it to play the latest episode of Locked On Patriots.

Once again, I'm Mike DeBate. I hope you enjoyed this Touchdown Thursday episode. I thank you so much for listening and for remaining locked into Locked On Patriots. Stay safe. Stay well. Continue to be the change you wish to see in the world. And have a great day, everyone.