Pats Camp Position Battles to Watch

Originally I was going to take all the position battles and do a post on each, but upon further review that would be an exercise in tedium. How many of you would get excited about a full post about the thrilling battle for who the backup guard is going to be? Nobody? I thought so.

So instead of dragging this out I’m just going to lay them all out here in one handy dandy Friday post. This is peak #PatsFanProblems because there really isn’t a whole heck of a lot of uncertainty heading into training camp as to who will be on the field the most.

For the most part, then offense and defenses return intact, with a few notable exceptions. Offensively, Martellus Bennett and LeGarrette Blount departed and their roles were not insignificant, but the Patriots targeted their replacements with Dwayne Allen and Mike Gillislee (and maybe Rex Burkhead, BATTLE TIME!).

Defensively, Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard‘s departures left some uncertainty as far as the pass rushers go, and we know how everyone loves to talk pass rushers, while Logan Ryan‘s move to the Titans opened up a starting corner spot. But again, they brought in Kony Ealy, while drafting two other defensive ends, and gave cornerback Stephon Gilmore a mega deal to take Ryan’s spot.

So yes, all the turnover was pretty neatly handled, leaving the biggest questions at the bottom of the roster. But if you’re an obsessive Patriots fan (and if you’re reading this blog post there’s a pretty good chance you are) you care even about the minutiae like who the backup swing tackle will be.

Let’s breakdown the camp position battles!

Linebacker Rotation

After Dont’a Hightower and David Harris, nothing seems set in stone at the linebacker spot. You could see a rotation similar to what happened last year, with Harris eating into Elandon Roberts‘ playing time in an early down role and Kyle Van Noy playing a passing down role. There just isn’t an exciting new player who projects to play a three-down role and with Hightower’s injury history that’s a little scary.  They might have to lean on Harris more than they might like. When Hightower was limited in the AFC Championship game it was Shea McClellin who played a linebacker-high 62 percent of the snaps, with Van Noy playing 61 percent. But in the Super Bowl, with Hightower not coming off the field, McClellin was reduced to eight defensive snaps. Jonathan Freeny’s return should make things a little interesting, but most signs point to the linebacker job being largely done by committee after Hightower.

The biggest area to watch — how they work Harris in and how it affects Roberts and Freeny, who would appear to be going head to head for a role. I like Roberts in that battle. Harvey Longi has some promise, but I’d consider it unlikely that he has the tools to unseat Roberts or Van Noy. I have McClellin firmly on the bubble.

Guard Depth

Joe Thuney and Shaq Mason appear set as the top starters, and while Ted Karras returns, he won’t be handed the backup job. The Pats added just undrafted rookie Jason King, who will enter the fray with practice squadders like Jamil Douglas. Yesterday’s cut of Chase Farris opens up another roster spot, so perhaps there’s a move here to add a veteran guard to push Karras. This seems like an unpredictable bloodbath with Karras the slight favorite to retain his job from last season, unless they bring in someone to unseat him.

Cornerback Depth

With three quality outside corners in Gilmore, Butler and Rowe, the only question is how the team will replace what Logan Ryan did when he slid inside to the slot in sub packages. I’ve speculated Butler could do that now, but perhaps Justin Coleman, who had a strong start to 2016 before falling off the map, and Cyrus Jones, who only got his feet a little wet at cornerback, could compete for a specialty role. Jonathan Jones saw time in the slot during OTAs, but it’s important not to read too much into that. They always give looks to a variety of players during the spring. Then there’s the four undrafted rookies who all have slot experience and could get a chance. But at the end of the day you have to think the top trio will be who they roll with, but the Cyrus-Coleman-Jones battle will be an area to watch, but with Duron Harmon back, it’s likely even the dime package is pretty set with three safeties and three corners.

Swing Tackle

Last year Cameron Fleming served as the swing tackle but he doesn’t have the feet to be much of a solution at left tackle. The Pats got themselves a bunch of athletic tackles in the draft and through rookie free agency, and while it’s a lock Tony Garcia should be the swing tackle, guys like Conor McDermott could also sneak onto the roster if they show some ability to move inside and potentially back up the interior as well. Garcia will be one player I’ll have an eye on. His development could have major ripple effects through the roster, especially with Nate Solder in the last year of his deal.

Early Down Running Back

The running back spot on the Patriots is a gameplan position. Some weeks it will be a pass-heavy approach focusing on Dion Lewis and James White, others it will be more balanced with work for Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead. What’s unclear is exactly how the latter two will divide the work. The Pats invested in both of them so they must have a plan, but who will be the go-to guy in the gotta-have-it short yardage situations is a job that will have to be won. Gillislee could be primed for a monster season and will get plenty of touches, but the team clearly saw something in Burkhead so I’m very curious how they work him in.

ICYMI All-22 on @BR_NFL: Why Mike Gillislee will be the @Patriots‘ best running back since Corey Dillon https://t.co/LnjkdVkJtm

— Doug Farrar (@BR_DougFarrar) July 13, 2017

Third TE

Gronk and Dwayne Allen are a solid top duo but the third tight end spot looks wide open, with former Chief James O’Shaughnessy looking like the early favorite due simply to a lack of bodies. Matt Lengel did an okay job in limited action after Gronk was lost in 2016, perhaps he’ll take some positive steps forward. If there’s one position where there could be another addition, this is it. I’m still lamenting the trade of AJ Derby who really would’ve been a good fit here. Of course if Gronk stays healthy who the third tight end is won’t matter that much, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Tony Garcia used in heavy packages which would even further limit the third TE role.

Safety Depth

This might be the most interesting positional battle as Jordan Richards regressed in 2016 and there’s a few undrafted rookies who could push him for a special teams/back up safety spot. Damarius Travis and David Jones both had the skill to be drafted but slipped through the cracks. Patrick Chung’s role is such a vital one and there’s really no one behind him now who could come close to replicating what he does. If his injury woes return the Pats could be scrambling if a viable backup doesn’t emerge. Watching the trio of undrafted safeties will be a huge storyline to focus on, again, if you’re into Pats minutiae. One of those guys could be closer to playing meaningful defensive snaps than anyone, except the uber informed readers of this blog, might expect.