Five Patriots to Watch vs. Texans

The Patriots will play their second preseason game of the summer on Saturday night against the Texans, returning to Houston, where they were last seen winning Super Bowl 51.

It’s a good bet we’ll see more of the starters this week after Bill Belichick gave just about every top line player the night off in the first week of the preseason against the Jags.

The headlines for the Patriots, as they are for most teams, are all about overcoming injuries. Nate Solder has been out for a couple weeks, while one of his backups, LaAdrian Waddle had to leave joint practices with then Texans for medical evaluation back in Boston. Rookie left tackle Tony Garcia has also been missing time, leaving just Cam Fleming and Marcus Cannon, two players who should be protected as much as possible.

Tackle isn’t the only spot the Pats are dangerously thin. Defensive end Derek Rivers also had to return home to get his knee looked at and rookie Deitrich Wise continues to recover from a concussion he suffered in week one.

Simply put, the team cannot afford another injury at either of these two vital positions, but they can’t let that stand in their way of setting a baseline of performance against Houston. Between this week and next, the starters will get most of their work in. So it’ll be exciting to finally see some of the top end guys in action.

Here are five players that I’ll be keeping a close eye on.

1. Harvey Langi — After going back and re-watching the Jags game I came away even more impressed with Langi. I feel like I’m finally getting a sense of what made him so appealing to the Pats, as it was hard to see in his limited online film. What I see in Langi is a high energy player with long arms and active hands. He’s a bit undersized for the outside linebacker spot they have him playing, but he seems (at least against the Jags) to overcome that lack of size with those long arms and a non-stop motor. He simply finds a way to get into plays. I’m interested to see his further development in his second game. He should see time with starters and against starters so we’ll get an even better sense of where he’s at.
2. Brandin Cooks — We’re not going to get a full reveal of everything the Pats have in store for Cooks, but I’m mostly just excited to see him in uniform and just how fast he looks in game action. I saw plenty of training camp practices over the last few weeks and in almost every single one Cooks had a dynamic deep catch. The Pats won’t want to give anything away, but they’re sure to get Cooks a couple catches to get his feet wet. He’s going to be an exciting player this season.
3. Adam Butler — With injuries to Rivers and Wise, Butler could see even more time on the defensive end edge in this one, perhaps even with the starters. He was an interior player in college and would slide inside on passing downs, but in the Patriots vanilla preseason defense he’s an end. There’s certainly a spot to be won, and if Butler outplays Kony Ealy, he could lock down not only a roster spot, but a playing time spot.
4. David Harris — Harris is so vital to keeping the Pats defense in order this year. He frees up Dont’a Hightower and gives them a second linebacker option with experience and savvy to play against the toughest teams. I’m most curious to see how well Harris moves now, if he’s still decisive and packing a punch in the running game. I could see the Pats protecting him in this one too, with limited playing time, but hopefully when he’s in there he doesn’t look like he’s declining.
5. Rex Burkhead — Burkhead got me more and more excited with each practice that I saw him. He’s missed some time with injuries but I think we’ll see plenty of him in this one. I’m most excited to see how they feature his diversity as he seemed to be equally effective running hard and catching the ball this preseason. The Pats have never quite had a big strong back who can catch like this, you might have to go all the way back to Antowan Smith. I’d like to think Burkhead will be a really good back for masking the offense’s intentions and for that reason he could be a really important piece in 2017.

Honorable Mention Quick Hits

Kony Ealy — Needs a big night. Reports from West Virginia had him starting to make some plays, getting after the quarterback. I’ll believe it when I see it. But the Pats sure could use him if the light comes on.

Cam Fleming — A solid job with the one’s at left tackle could help Fleming secure a roster spot.

Trevor Bates — Another guy that showed up toward the end of the Jags game with high energy like Langi, he seemed to get his nose in quite a few plays. Curious if he’s a late riser who is making a push. Reports from practice this week said he was getting some expanded playing time.

Cyrus Jones — He really really needs a “wow” punt return or an interception. I know he’s capable of it. Something like that could get his career back on track.

Jacob Hollister/Austin Carr — Both will need every bit the big games they had last week against the Jags to continue a roster spot push. I still see both as simply victims of numbers but more spectacular catches in traffic will make them tough cuts.

Cole Croston — Under-the-radar offensive lineman who I thought showed some good stuff in the last preseason game. He could be one of those developmental guys who spends a year or two on the practice squad before elevating to the 53-man roster.

Lawrence Guy — Excited to really get a sense of Guy in a game. He’s going to be an important piece up front and I can’t wait to see how much interior disruption he causes on passing downs.