The Patriots and Saints will get underway with joint practices this morning. This is always a great way to get a new look at the players who have settled in over the last 12 days of training camp. It’s hard to believe it’s going by so quickly!
But in that time we’ve had some definite movement on the depth charts. The Pats have been fairly lucky so far with injuries, but that can change quickly. Still, the overall depth is promising, since there hasn’t been much juggling on the low end of the roster. That means we should see some quality performances out of the guys who are under-the-radar.
So before things get crazy with joint practices and games, let’s take a quick look at how the depth chart looks here as we stand on August 9th, just 33 days away from the season opener in Arizona!
Offensive Depth Chart Notes
- Nate Solder is back at his left tackle spot, while LaAdrian Waddle has garnered some quiet praise for showing up well in some left tackle reps. I continue to have high hopes that Waddle can replace Cannon as the swing back up.
- Joe Thuney has been a fixture at left guard since his first practice. Have to wonder if Tre Jackson’s return might cause some shifting, at least as far as reps go. But personally I’d prefer to just let Thuney stay there for the next 10 years if possible.
- Kline seems like he’d be the starter at RG if the season started today, but I get the feeling Mason, Karras and Jackson will still get their shots to compete. No idea what to do with Jonathan Cooper, who’d cost as much cap space to keep as he would to cut.
- Bryce Williams was turning some heads before getting injured and missing the last couple days. Could be the best thing for him, give him a red shirt year on IR without having to use a roster spot on him. Then see if he can replace Martellus Bennett next year if he walks.
- Clay Harbor vs. AJ Derby will be on head-to-head battle to keep an eye on in the game. Harbor just got back, but Derby has been turning heads the last couple days.
- Chris Hogan seems as-advertised with his 7-11 nickname. He’s been in sync with Brady early. Chris Harper vs. DeAndre Carter is another battle to watch in the game. Probably only one of them will end up on the practice squad. Definitely a need to develop another “quick-open” guy.
- Aaron Dobson hasn’t gotten much mention since last week when he got off to a hot start. Still see him as a long shot to make the roster.
- Gaffney should get a ton of carries Thursday night and if Donald Brown doesn’t get back soon, it could cost him a job.
Defensive Depth Chart Notes
- Seems like Ninkovich, Brown, Sheard, Hightower and Collins are the only sure-things in the front seven. The rest are all rotational pieces that will affect who’s playing where. Chris Long seems like he’s locked down the DPR (Designated Pass Rusher) role, but will see time at DE as well.
- Markus Kuhn continues to get a lot of snaps with the top unit and is the early favorite as the under-the-radar guy who makes the team. Would it have to come at the expense of Vincent Valentine though? Five DTs seems like a lot.
- I’ve moved Shea McClellin to DE from MLB and I don’t know how I feel about it. Confused mainly. Does it mean Freeny is at mike in base? Or will they put Hightower there and shift McClellin to SLB in base? I’d prefer that. But I’d also prefer Hightower could come off the edge more often. Either way, something’s up with how they’ll use McClellin and while we’ll get a small glimpse in preseason (maybe) we won’t know for sure until the regular season.
- My other issue is playing McClellin at DE could hurt the development of Geneo Grissom, Tre Flowers and Rufus Johnson. Of those three I’m most excited to see Flowers playing some DE against the Saints.
- Grugier-Hill has been showing up in practice, picking off Garoppolo in Monday’s session. He’s another one I’m curious about. He probably makes the team for special teams, and we might not see him at all on defense. So it’s these preseason games where we can really get a sense of how he might fit into the defense down the line. If at all.
- Top five is pretty clear at this point — Butler, Ryan, Coleman, C. Jones and J. Jones. Darryl Roberts hasn’t had much mention thus far after standing out in 2015’s training camp.
- Haven’t heard much about Jordan Richards this camp. Thought he might be in line for some defensive snaps in place of the ones Tavon Wilson used to oocasionally get. Those could be going to Grugier-Hill now.
What’s clearly apparent is that the Pats are dripping with depth and if the preseason ended tomorrow, they’d have to cut a lot of good players. Let’s see if they’ll need to tap into this depth if/when injuries hit, which always seems more likely once the preseason games start.
